Final Days
by Enigma6482
Summary: John Connor's fate and the fate of the entire world are forever changed by the actions of a solitary Terminator. Takes place days before Cameron is sent back in time and will chronicle events before her appearnce and after her time travel back.
1. Chapter 1

**Final Days**

CHAPTER 1

_I had a child ask me today what was the world like before Judgment Day. The question itself caught me off guard because its been so long since I thought about it. To tell you the truth I really couldn't give him a good answer. Sure there are flashes here and there of green grass, quite starry summer nights and the feel of a warm breeze on a beach; but, to tell you the truth most of those memories are so faded I'm not even sure if they are my own or not. I felt rather foolish standing there in front of this 10 year old with my mouth hanging open not knowing what to say to him. I did however, manage to get out,_ "It was beautiful before the war."

A solitary male sat in an old rickety chair at a desk with a dim desk light illuminating the area in front of him as he wrote in a journal. He was stripped to the waist wearing nothing but camouflage military fatigues. His exposed back gave witness to numerous scars. Some of the scars appeared to be cuts while others were burns. He allowed his left arm to steady the journal as he wrote in it. He flicked his eyes over towards his arm looking at the bar code that was tattooed across it. He slowly put the pen down and brought his left hand up to his head and ran it through his brown hair. Well it wasn't all brown, the stress of a lifetime of combat had given him more than a few grey hairs at this point. Some wrinkles were also visible on his face as well. He was surprising however still able to keep some of his youth for a man that had spent his whole life fighting. As he sat back in his chair it creaked under the stress; he signed a long sigh of fatigue. Just then a soft hand touched him on his shoulder. He looked up somewhat surprised.

"Can't sleep again?"

"No..." he replied somberly.

"Would you like to be alone? I could resume my patrols around the base?"

"Heh…No your fine Cam you can stay." John looked up at her. She still had her hand on his shoulder. Having Cameron in the room often comforted and relaxed him but not tonight. John didn't know why he was so uneasy tonight but for some reason he hadn't been able to get that child's question out of his mind.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Cameron asked with a growing look of concern on her face.

"No, I'm fine just a little restless tonight."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Cameron had found that John and humans in general often felt a sense of comfort by talking about their problems. John sighed and looked at Cameron. He felt a slight sense of security and comfort come back to him as he gazed at her. John thought for a moment. It had been awhile since he and Cameron had talked. Sure they spent a lot time together strategizing and planning missions but that didn't actually mean they were "together". At least not in the way friends are "together" and _never _in a physical or relationship way. Of course many people assumed that this had already happened but John didn't care what people thought anymore. Besides he could never allow himself to become that involved with anyone. Everyone he ever truly loved had been taken from him, his mother, his father, his uncle, and all the countless fellow soldiers over the years. John had become accustomed to keeping people at arms length by this point in his life. It was easier to make command decisions about them that way. But Cameron had managed to work her way into his life to a point, but only to a certain point. Anymore than that he felt he couldn't handle or risk. John then realized that Cameron had been standing there for several seconds waiting for his response…and he owed her one.

"I had a child ask me today what was the world like before Judgment day."

"What did you tell him?" John chuckled a bit, something he didn't do often.

"You know to tell you the truth I didn't know what to say. I can barely remember it myself." "I don't really want to remember it."

"You don't want to remember?"

"Yeah, I don't want to remember. Because then it makes me think of all that we've lost." "Of everyone I've…we've lost." Cameron cocked her head to the side slightly. From experience John knew that this was in inquisitory look. He signed, "I prefer not to think of the past and only of the future." "Its kinda been like that my whole life…Always considering the future."

"I understand." Cameron acknowledged. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You've been more help than you can ever know Cameron." She gave a slight smile to this. John could feel his eyes growing heavy again with fatigue.

"You should get some sleep." Cameron held out her hand to help John up, not that he needed it but Cameron had found that physical contact often comforted humans. He slowly took her hand but looked at her for a moment before he stood. She looked at him puzzled for a moment but dismissed it as normal when he began to walk past her. She walked behind him as he walked over to his bed and waited while he got into it. John remembered that there was a time when he hated it when people watched him sleep. However, by this point in his life he felt great comfort knowing that Cameron was in the room with him. He didn't always have to be on guard while she was around. He could drop his guard but only for a short while. John looked at Cameron as she scanned the room while his eyes got heavier and he slowly fell to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

There was something about Alison that John trusted. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but for some reason he trusted her more than others. The first time he met her was just after the conflict at Topanga Canyon. John had just sent Kyle Reese his father back in time and it was thought that the war was over due to the fact that Skynet's defense mainframe had been destroyed. Little did anyone know that Skynet had hacked a US Defense satellite in orbit and downloaded a backup file of itself onto the hard drive. The second that Skynet went offline the satellite powered up and began a download of itself to every functioning AI left on the planet. Now Skynet exists primarily as software not hardware.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John remembered walking down the dimly lit corridors in somewhat of a daze. Everyone that saw him was congratulating him on a successful mission. No one knew what had really just happened to him. John managed to keep up the pretense that he was happy until he reached Alison. She was walking in the opposite direction as John down the corridor. As she reached him she smiled and then stopped dead in her tracks with a look of concern on her face and asked him,

"General, are you okay?" The question caught John completely off guard and he didn't know how to answer it. In fact he didn't even know how to react to it. It was all John could do to keep from crying. Alison saw John's eyes well up with tears. As this happened she reached out her hand and touched John on the arm. Without thinking she asked,

"What happened?". Alison cringed after she asked the question because she thought that there was no way that the leader of the human resistance would ever want to confide in some young girl that just so happened to be walking down a dark corridor. But after a lifetime of hiding who his father was John couldn't take it anymore. Before he could think of an appropriate response or lie he blurted out,

"I just sent my father back in time to die…" Alison looked at him with shock and confusion.

"You did what?" She asked. Alison was the first person John had ever spoken a word of this to in his entire life. John cleared his throat as he fought back the tears.

"Well there's no denying it anymore…Kyle Reese was my father." Alison was extremely confused by his statement she had met Kyle Reese before but just in passing.

"How is that possible?" Alison asked. John understood her confusion, after all no one but John and a handful of his soldiers including Kyle had made it into the inner core of the Skynet facility located at Topanga Canyon. Only then to witness a Terminator being sent back in time to kill his mother. John thought that he would disappear instantly since Skynet had managed to send a Terminator back before Kyle was sent back to protect him but apparently that wasn't the case. One of the Tech Com scientists explained to him that even though the Terminator had been sent back in time before Kyle was John didn't cease to exist due to the fact that the time displacement equipment was still running. It was temporarily protecting John from the Changes in the past. However, as soon as the TDE was powered down the temporal bubble that it was creating would collapse and John would disappear from history. There wasn't much time to react and before John could tell Kyle to go he volunteered. That was the last time John thought he would ever see his father. John realized that Alison was still standing there in confusion so he responded,

"What I'm about to tell you can never be told to anyone else." Alison nodded her head in agreement. "When we invaded Topanga Canyon we found that Skynet had created a time machine." Alison looked at John in shock. Common sense told him he shouldn't be telling Alison any of this but his instincts told him that he could trust her. After keeping everything in for such a long time he felt as though he had to trust someone and it might as well be Alison. "Only a handful of us had made it to Skynet's core where the time displacement equipment was located. Before we could shut it down Skynet was able to send back a Terminator."

"Send back a Terminator?" Alison asked with some confusion.

"Yes send one back in time…To kill my mother before I was born." Alison's astonishment grew as he explained the situation. "The only thing we could do was send one of our soldiers back to stop it." "That soldier was Kyle…My father." Somewhat to John's surprise Alison was able to put the pieces of the time travel puzzle together.

"So in order for you to be born you had to send Kyle back in time."

"Yes." John replied.

"And he was killed defending your mother?" Alison asked.

"Yes." Alison looked at John with sympathy.

"General I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I've lived with that my whole life. You're the first person I've spoken to about it." Alison was confused.

"Why would the leader of the human resistance confide such an important secret to her?" she thought to herself. However, "Why?" was the only word Alison could get out.

"Why did I tell you?" John asked.

"Yes." She replied. John paused for a moment.

"I guess I felt I could trust you. I've been keeping it a secret for so long I almost couldn't stand it." "When you asked me what happened I couldn't help but tell you." "Hopefully I haven't made a mistake."

"You haven't…Promise..." John smiled slightly somewhat relieved both at Alison's "promise" remark and the fact that he had been able to get this matter off his chest that had been bothering him for song long.

"I should go, they're probably looking for me in the war room." John stated.

"Of course General." John turned to walk off then paused and turned back around.

"Call me John." Alison smiled.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"John…John" John awoke in his bed to the sound of Cameron's voice.

"It was a dream." He thought to himself.

"John" Cameron continued, "They need us in the War Room."

"Yes of course." John sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes for a moment. He grabbed the closest shirt to him camouflage of course and put it on. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Colonel Alexander informed me that our air base at Point Mugu is under attack."

"Point Mugu? That's only about 100 miles from here"

"Yes, I know that is why I woke you." John quickly put on his boots and ran out of his room with Cameron.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

John and Cameron walked into the Serrano Point war room. It was a large circular room with Computer screens suspended from the ceiling throughout the room displaying different live images from around the world. One of which was the Point Mugu Naval Air Station. There were numerous computer mainframes on the far side of the room along with a large holographic imaging table in the center of the room which was recreating the topography of the base at Point Mugu. The imager was also displaying an estimation of Skynet's terminator and HK movements along with Tech Com unit movements at the base.

"What's the situation Colonel?" John asked as he walked into the room. Colonel Alexander exhaled as he put both his fists on the edge of the imaging table and leaned forward slightly, his large frame pushing down on the edge of the table as he thought about what to say.

"It started with a small group of HK's attacking to the north of the base. It appeared to be just a random attack but then a larger amphibious assault hit to the south along the beachfront." "The HK's to the north pulled back somewhat but are still carpeting the sky above the base with anti-aircraft rounds." "General Perry hasn't been able to launch his air cover yet due to the anti-aircraft fire from the HK's and I'm not sure how much longer his ground forces can hold off the amphibious assault." John surveyed the view that the holographic imager was providing him. Skynet forces were displayed in red while Tech Com forces were in blue. The display of the land was green and the Base itself was yellow. John saw that Skynet had landed one of its Kracken Undersea Ships along the beachfront. The Kracken was a massive vessel. It was able to carry numerous land and air HK's and was designed specifically for large amphibious assaults. Skynet had only been able to construct a handful of these ships since it required such a massive amount of resources. The last Tech Com unit to encounter one of these vessels was the Submarine Jimmy Carter and reason for its crew's survival and the mission failure hadn't been completely explained to John's satisfaction yet. The Kracken had run itself aground along the beach and was deploying its HK's.

"Skynet would not devote these kinds of resources to a battle unless it was planning on attacking Serrano point directly." Cameron said as she looked at John. John nodded his head in agreement.

"Colonel launch one of our squadrons of Apache gunships to assist with air cover for the base."

"Sir, are you sure that, that'll be enough help for them?" Colonel Alexander asked with a look of concern on his face.

"It'll have to be. If Skynet is planning a full assault on this base we need to be prepared." "We can't risk them getting their hands on our TDE."

"Yes sir." Colonel Alexander picked up a corded phone and began to give orders to launch the Apaches to the person on the other end of the line. John stood at the imaging table staring at the hologram. He then leaned over closer to Cameron and spoke in a quieter voice to her.

"If Skynet is preparing to attack Serrano we need to be ready." Cameron nodded her head and turned and walked out of the room. "How long will it take our Apache's to reach Point Mugu?" John asked as he turned to Colonel Alexander.

"If we factor in launch prep time at top speed it should be about 40 to 45 minutes." John took a step back away from the table and crossed his arms.

"Lets hope they can last that long."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

The battle at Point Mugu had been going on for about 3 hours. John hadn't left the War Room in that entire time. The Apache squadron that John had launched had been able to hold off the HK's for long enough for General Perry to launch his forces and the battle was at a stalemate at this point. John watched the images of helicopters, Jets, and HK's flash across the holographic imager.

"Sir, I have General Perry on the line." John looked up and saw that the Sergeant sitting at the communications center was looking at him.

"Thank you Sergeant." He said as he picked up the phone in front of him, "General, how you holding up out there?"

"It's tough sir but we're giving them hell." The line had intermittent static interruptions but John could make out what the General was saying.

"Glad to hear, it General. Be careful though I think the HK's providing anti-aircraft cover may pull to the west and then to the north towards Serrano." The General paused for a moment before he spoke.

"They're here for Serrano…"

"I think so yes." John replied.

"And they're going to come through us to get to it."

"I think that is the case as well Perry." General Perry sighed a heavy sigh.

"We'll hold them off for as long as we can." Perry stated

"Thank you General." John set the phone down in its cradle as he continued to look at the imager. John knew that if push came to shove Skynet would launch a nuclear strike on Point Mugu. The advantage of having an army consisting of inhuman solders and a nuclear arsenal was that Skynet could conduct a nuclear strike and launch its forces shortly thereafter and not have to worry about the radiation like humans would. John turned to the man seated at a computer terminal across from him.

"Lieutenant is our missile defense system up and running?"

"Yes sir, Patriot 2 missiles are armed and ready. General Perry's are up and running as well." John paused for a moment before speaking in a lowered voice.

"He doesn't have that many though." John thought to himself, "The last time Skynet was this close to Serrano Point was when the T-1000 infiltrated the base." John continued to stair at the holographic imager as his thoughts drifted back to that day.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Serrano Point 1 ½ Years Earlier*

It had been some time since the resistance had captured the TDE located at Serrano Point and the TDE had only been used once since then. John was standing in the central room looking at the TDE. The room itself was a massive spherical room. A large stainless steel walkway extended to the center of the room onto a circular platform. Around the platform for about 30 feet was empty space, then several large suspended metallic globes that pivoted on their axis were positioned around the platform. Huge generators were located in the front of the room which provided power to the Time Displacement Equipment itself. If the TDE hadn't been located inside of a nuclear power plant there would have been no way the resistance would have been able to power it. Even still with the amount of energy it took to operate the device the resistance would only be able to use the TDE a limited number of times before the nuclear plant would not be able to provide enough energy to power it. Tech Com scientists had surmised that if the TDE needed to be used it would be better to send multiple people through time at once since the TDE used less energy once power up to send multiple people through then to power it up and then back down multiple times over the course of days, weeks, or months. This is why John had allowed First Lieutenant Derek Reece to lead a group of men back in time in order to secure materials and assets for the future resistance.

"It's so peaceful in here." John turned his head to look at Alison who was now standing next to him.

"Yes, it certainly is." He replied. The vastness of the room and the metal that it was constructed out of made it eerily silent inside the structure.

"I always enjoyed working in here because of how peaceful it was." Alison said as she looked around the room. John nodded his head again still looking around the room. Alison could tell something else was on his mind.

"This will help us John…" she said as she looked at him.

"I hope so." John replied. "At least we'll be prepared if Skynet sends another Terminator back in time." "And thanks to Skynet's obsession with defensive systems we've been able to hold this position for quite awhile." Alison chuckled a bit.

"A computer system with an obsession...That's an interesting thought." John laughed slightly,

"Yeah that is kinda funny isn't it." John's smile faded quickly though.

"You're thinking about your father aren't you?" Alison asked.

"Yes, and my…" John's voiced trailed off.

"It's not your fault John." "He knows that." John nodded his head, fighting back his tears.

"He always hated me for sending him back." Alison looked at John somewhat confused.

"Who?" She asked.

"Derek…Kyle's brother." John resisted the urge to say that Derek was his uncle. He was struggling to keep his composure as he spoke. "I knew if I told him the truth it would change everything and could put even more lives in danger, so I told him nothing." "He hated me for it." "I think that might have been the reason he was so willing to go back." "So that he could get away from me; or maybe it was because the only thing he hated more than me is the machines." John's head dropped slightly. Alison slowly put her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Every time something was bothering John Alison always found a way to make him feel better, if ever so slightly.

"I need to give you something." John said as he looked over at Alison. She looked at him with curiosity. John reached into his pocket and retrieved a silver colored bracelet. In actuality it was stainless steel since silver was such an extreme rarity in these times.

"What is it?" Alison asked.

"Skynet has taken to targeting our dogs specifically since we use them to spot their infiltrators." "Since we haven't always been able to always supply every position with a dog I've decided to implement a backup plan as far as checking for infiltrators goes." John slowly took Alison's left hand in his and placed the bracelet around her wrist. The clasp "clicked" as he secured it. "Don't ever take it off." John stated.

"I won't…Promise…" John smiled at Alison's reply and she smiled back at him. John and Alison stood there in the TDE room for a few more seconds before another voice broke the silence.

"Sir, Major Alexander is looking for you." The thick Austrian accent was immediately recognizable to John. Alison was startled and turned to see who was talking to them. She gasped in fear and took a step back. John put his hand on her shoulder,

"It's okay, I've reprogrammed it." Alison looked at the large T-800 infiltrator standing in front of her.

"He looks exactly the same way as the one you described that killed your father."

"You're right he looks exactly like the one that killed my father…But this isn't the same one that killed my father he's just a duplicate of it." "We were able to capture him on our last missions to one of Skynet's factories." Alison still stood there shocked. She knew that John had been able to reprogram a handful of Terminators that he had captured but this one in particular she couldn't understand as to why John would keep it around.

"Why would you keep this one around though?" "It has to remind you of your father's death." John sighed.

"It does…But for some reason I can't describe, I feel like we may be able to use it." The Terminator stood quietly as John talked about it. "It's already been able to provide us with a lot of valuable information on Skynet HK movements." "And I think it makes a pretty good body guard as well." "He is lacking in conversation skills however." John gave Alison a slight smirk as he said this. Alison relaxed a little as John spoke.

"What do you call it?" John stood there for a moment thinking.

"I hadn't given it a lot of thought yet but I was leaning towards Bob." Alison looked at Bob then turned to John,

"Sounds as good a name as any." John looked at Bob as well,

"Lead the way Bob." The large Terminator turned and proceeded to walk out of the room with John and Alison following him.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Alison awoke to find two men in Tech Com uniforms standing over her. She was confused at first but soon realized something was very wrong. One of the men pushed a pillow over her face while the other grabbed her legs. Alison attempted to scream but the pillow muffled her cries for help. Alison then felt her legs being taped together. Struggling she managed to kick the man that was at her feet. He stumbled backwards and tripped over a chest that was on the floor hitting the ground with a thud. Alison reached up and scratched the man's face who had been covering her face with a pillow and managed to break free of his grasp. Reaching across to the small table she had next to her bed Alison grabbed the only thing that was available to her, a small hand mirror that her mother had given to her. She struck the man standing above her in the face with it. The mirror shattered immediately. The man grabbed his face and stepped back away from Alison. She managed to stumbled out of bed and ran out the door of her room. She turned to her right in an attempt to run down the corridor that would lead her to one of the entrances to Serrano point. She knew it would have been guarded by Tech Com soldiers and they would be able to help her but instead she saw the glowing red eyes of a T-800 walking towards her. She could hear the metallic clunking of its feet on the ground as it approached. Alison turned and ran in the other direction. Gasping for breath she ran as fast as she could. Alison heard her pursuers close behind her. Gripped with fear she tripped over a piece of debris that was left in the hallway and fell to the ground. She quickly got back up and continued to run. She could hear the T-800 gaining on her as she ran. Alison attempted to slow down to round a corner but her feet slipped on some loose dirt beneath her feet and she fell to the ground again. The T-800 was even closer now. Alison sprang to her feet and ran as fast as she could rounding a corner to her left and making it to an old unguarded exit hatch. She struggled with the bar on the door trying to open it quickly. Alison saw the lights from her pursuer's flashlights getting closer and heard the metallic clunking from the T-800's feet getting louder. She finally managed to free the bar and pushed the door open running out into the cold night air. To her surprise she saw a search light beaming down onto her location and heard the engines of a Skynet aerial HK. She ran for a few more feet before again falling over the rubble that was all around her. Exhausted Alison forced herself to get up. She slowly began to turn around to look over her shoulder and was suddenly struck by something and was knocked to the ground. She realized quickly that she was inside of a net. Alison struggled to free herself as the spotlight around her grew brighter and the jet engines grew louder. She screamed in fear. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John stood in the Serrano Point War Room with Major Alexander, Bob and several other members of Tech Com. John and Major Alexander were bent over a computer screen looking at photos taken from a hacked Skynet spy satellite.

"If we're able to move our forces near Fort Worth a little farther north we may stand a chance at striking at this factory." John said as he pointed to part of the picture on the computer screen. Major Alexander studied the picture for a moment,

"This is true and it could start to give us a foot hold on the mid east seaboard that we need but…" The door to war room swung open with a loud crash. Bob immediately stepped forward in a defensive posture.

"General! General!" A young Lieutenant came bursting into the room. John and Major Alexander looked up surprised.

"What's going on Spears?" John asked as he held out his hand signaling to Bob that everything was okay. Lieutenant Spears still gasping for breath managed to get out,

"Reboot your RADAR scanners Skynet is here, now!" John looked over at a Sergeant sitting at another computer terminal.

"Do it!" The Sergeant began to type away and flicked a couple of switches next to a large RADAR screen. Lieutenant Spears continued,

"We have a problem Sir, a major problem." Major Alexander spoke up,

"What's going on Lieutenant?" Composing himself a little more Spears began to speak,

"Two of my guys were on patrol near the southeaster section of the base." "They were finishing up their patrol when one of them thought he heard something." "He came around the corner of the base and saw an aerial HK hovering over one of the old exit ports." Before Spears could finish his explanation the young Sergeant sitting at the RADAR terminal spoke up,

"Sir, I'm reading three aerial HK's on my scope." "One directly above us, one to the north and one about a mile away moving off to the south east."

"Damn it! How did they get this close to us!" John yelled as he punched the table in front of him. Spears spoke up,

"Greys sir, I think they're in Serrano they must have sabotaged our RADAR systems." "They're also jamming our hand held radio's, that's why I wasn't able to contact you over the handset." Furious John replied,

"Major, bring our aerial Defenses online and launch our alert choppers." John then turned to a Sergeant behind him sitting at a communications terminal." "Sergeant, get Point Mugu on the line and advise them of our situation and tell them to launch their alert squadrons." Major Alexander picked up the phone, and pinned it to his ear as he began to type away at a computer bringing Serrano Point's aerial defense online.

"Launch the alert choppers ASAP!" He barked into the phone. John turned to Spears,

"How do we know it's Greys?"

"Apparently one of the Greys didn't make it to their rendezvous point in time." "The aerial HK moved off pretty fast leaving one of them behind and my guys were able to detain him." "He was wearing a Corporal's uniform and was attempting to crawl out one of the waist water drains." "They located several hard drivers on him with details to our troop movements and defense systems." As Spears spoke John could hear the explosions of several anti aircraft guns being fired from the base.

"Bloody Greys!!" Alexander snarled in frustration.

"Where is he?" John asked trying to hold back his anger.

"We have him in one of our holding cells; but, sir there's something else you should know." John looked at Spears who paused for a moment attempting to put together his thoughts.

"On my way over hear I was advised by one of my MP's that your friend Alison Young is missing." John braised himself on the table next to him.

"What? Gone?!."

"Yes sir," Spears replied, "I think she may have been onboard the first aerial HK that left the scene." Furious John turned to Major Alexander,

"Can you handle things up here?!"

"Yes sir," Alexander replied.

"Good," John pointed to Spears and Bob, "You and you come with me." "And Major, advise Lieutenant Smith to change our damn radio frequency so we can talk to each other!" John, Lieutenant Spears and Bob then ran out of the War Room.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

A man in a Tech Com Captain's uniform walked down a long hallway towards a large set of blast doors. The air raid sirens and explosions coming from the exterior of the base were somewhat muffled but he could still hear them. Warning lights flashed as he walked down the long hallway until he reached the door way. The two soldiers standing there saluted him then one asked,

"Sir, what can we do for you?"

"General Connor sent me, I need to start powering up the TDE we're going to send some men back to stop this raid." The soldier looked at the Captain confused.

"Uh, sir, during a lock down I'm not able to give anyone access to the TDE unless it's General Connor himself." The Captain slowly turned his head looking at both soldiers.

"That's to bad…" Both of the captain's arms suddenly turned into long metallic spears and shot out towards the two soldiers impaling their heads. The T-1000 then pulled the spears out of the soldier's heads and they both dropped to the ground dead. He looked at them both for a moment then grabbed one soldier by the wrist and lifted up the soldier's lifeless hand. The T-1000 placed his hand up against the soldiers hand and was instantly able to duplicate the dead soldier's fingerprints. The T-1000 then walked over to a control panel and placed his hand on the palm reader. He saw a small laser begin to scan from the top of his fingers down to the bottom of his palm. The computer beeped and then a numeric display appeared on the touch panel. The T-1000 looked at it for a moment then entered the code "564283". The computer beeped again and an alarm began to sound as the blast doors slowly started to open.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"He's inside there Sir." Lieutenant Spears stated as he pointed to one of the metal holding cell doors.

"Spears, you stay out here, Bob you come with me." John said as he turned and opened the door walking into the holding cell. Bob followed closely behind him closing the door after he entered. John looked at the man sitting on the small cot in front of him. The man was somewhat thin, a bit shorter than John with black hair. It appeared that he hadn't shaved in several days as well. The Corporals uniform that the man was wearing was a little to big for him. This wouldn't have been a major concern to John except for he knew that more than likely the Corporal that this uniform did belong to was probably dead. The man smiled at John smugly. John felt the anger inside of him build at an exponential rate and he quickly walked over to the man and grabbed him by both sides of his shirt and lifted him off the cot. John then slammed him up against the wall of the cell,

"WHERE IS SHE??!!"

This first question surprised both the man and John and even puzzled Bob. Everyone assumed that John's initial question would be some sort of tactical question in order to ascertain why Skynet was here. The man again smiled smugly figuring out quickly that the capture of Alison had obviously hit one of very few nerves John had left. John regained his composure and then stepped away from the man.

"Why are you here?" John asked. "Is Skynet trying to recapture Serrano?" The man laughed,

"Capture it? Why would we need to capture it?" His response puzzled John. He knew that Skynet may have built another TDE but John had managed to keep Skynet's resources spread thin enough that maintaining a working TDE would have been difficult. John assumed that Serrano Point would be a primary target for Skynet due to the tactical advantage of re-obtaining a fully functional TDE.

"Do you realize what you're doing?" "You're trying to wipe out your own species." The man continued to smile a sly smile.

"Humanity deserves to be wiped out." "Skynet is perfect, it's the machines turn to rule the world." "And if we need to, we'll take it from you piece by piece." Instantly thinking of Alison again, John balled his fist and struck the man across the face knocking him to the ground in front of Bob who looked down at him quickly. The man laughed again,

"There's nothing you can do…It's all over by now." The door to the cell suddenly swung open revealing Lieutenant Spears.

"General! I just got word from Major Alexander that the TDE is being powered up." John looked down at the man with hatred in his eyes.

"Skynet doesn't need the base back it just wants to use the time machine one more time…And you're just a distraction." John turned and started to walk out of the cell.

"You'll never see that little whore again! Skynet will see to that!" The man said as he began to laugh. John stopped dead in his tracks and turned around quickly. As he did he drew his side arm. He moved quickly back into the cell and placed the barrel of the gun up against the man's head and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed throughout the cell and John's ears began to ring slightly. He re-holstered his gun and walked out of the room.

"Lets go." John, Spears and Bob ran down the corridor heading in the direction of the TDE.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

John, Lieutenant Spears, and Bob ran down the dark corridors of Serrano Point towards the TDE as fast as they could. They reached the blast doors of the TDE at roughly the same time as Major Alexander and two other Tech Com soldiers did. They could hear all the generators inside of the room straining to run at full power and massive electrical discharges which sounded like lighting that were all occurring inside. John immediately ran up to the scanner and placed his palm on the touch screen and allowed the computer to scan his finger and palm prints. He then entered the code "564283". The alarm for the doors sounded as they slowly began to open.

"Come on, come on!" John said as he anxiously waited for the doors to open. Sudden a loud boom was heard just inside of the room much like an explosion. John managed to squeeze his way through the slowly opening doors just in time to see the temporal sphere with the T-1000 inside of it disappear.

"Damn it!!!" John yelled. As the doors finished opening the other men moved into the TDE room where John was standing but Bob stopped for a moment to study the bodies of the two dead soldiers at the door. As Lieutenant Spears approached John and asked,

"Where did it go?" John looked at Spears,

"The correct question is when." Spears looked thoroughly confused.

"Okay, when did he go?" By this time Major Alexander had made it over to the control panel of the TDE. Hitting a few keys on the keyboard he spoke up,

"June 7th 1997!" John clenched his fist,

"They're doing it again." "They're sending a Terminator back to try to kill me."

"I don't get it, if Skynet sent another terminator back in time to kill you and we haven't sent anyone back to protect you then why are you still here?" "Why are any of us still here?" Spears asked still looking confused.

"The temporal bubble created by the TDE is still surrounding this immediate area due to the fact that the equipment is still powered up." Bob stated as he walked into the room.

"We have to send someone back to stop him." John said as he looked at the men. In any other situation John would have gone himself but to disappear from the present and leave the resistance without a leader would be disastrous.

"You must send me back." Bob stated.

"Send you back?" Major Alexander said almost laughing. "Why can't one of us go?" "After all, how do we know we can really trust you?" Bob looked back at Major Alexander with a slight look of distain,

"No human will be able to defend John from a T-1000."

"A T-1000?" John asked.

"Yes a T-1000, it is an experimental liquid metal terminator that Skynet was attempting to develop while I was still located at the Skynet facility." "Its metal is derived from a mimetic poly-alloy, and it is able to duplicate almost anything it comes into physical contact with."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" John asked somewhat angry.

"It was uncertain if the T-1000 would be put into development due to its unstable nature." "Its advanced artificial intelligence gave Skynet far less control over it as apposed to the other Terminator units." "Several initial models of the T-1000 had to be destroyed when they refused to follow some of Skynet's commands."

"Well it looks like Skynet found one it likes." Alexander stated as he continued to work at the TDE control panel, he then looked back at John, "Whatever you're gonna do, you better do it fast I can only keep the TDE running for about another minute." John glanced back at the men in the room then back at Bob.

"Alright go!" Bob nodded.

"You should be informed that you and possibly the rest of the men may experience some discomfort after I leave."

"What?" John asked. Bob explained as he began to strip off his clothes to prepare for time travel.

"Depending on how much of the past I change and how much contact we have you may experience some additional memories."

"Additional memories?" John asked. By this time Bob had finished disrobing.

"Temporal Memory Shift is far to complicated for me to explain in the limited time we have left." "I will succeed in my mission General Connor." With that Bob turned and began to walk down the long stainless steel walkway towards the center platform of the TDE. The other men watched somewhat mystified that a machine would be willing to sacrifice itself to save the leader of the human resistance. Bob reached the center platform and turned towards them and knelt down.

"I'm ready." he stated. Major Alexander looked at John who nodded at him to activate the TDE. Alexander flipped a couple of switches and they heard the generators begin to power back up. The large spheres around Bob began to spin quickly as electricity arched between them. The spheres were creating a large amount of wind in the room as they continued to spin faster and faster. A silver looking sphere began to form around Bob as the Time Displacement Equipment reached full power. It flashed with electrical energy and then the sphere collapsed in on itself with a deafening boom that made all of the men jump and cover their ears as the sound echoed throughout the massive room. John's ears were still ringing as he heard the generators begin to power down. Finally the room was quite. Spears looked over at John,

"I don't get it, I thought he said…." John fell to his knee's holding his head screaming in pain as new memories began to flood into his head. Sudden John was there remembering it all. He was at the mall running from the unknown Police Officer who was chasing him down that hallway. He burst through the double doors and turned to his right and saw a Terminator walking towards him. He actually had time to see the roses fall from the box it was hiding the shotgun in and John heard them crunch beneath his feet as it walked. Terrified, John remembered turning around and running back down the hallway in the opposite direction and attempting to open a locked door. John then turned and saw the Terminator pointing the shotgun at him. John felt terrified.

"Get down!" It stated. John ducked only to hear the loud blast from the shotgun ring out, John screamed in fear. The terminator grabbed John and pulled him away from the Police Officer as he began to fire at both of them. John heard the bullets clanking off the Terminator's metal frame and he heard the maintenance man who was located between them and the Police Officer in the hallway scream as he was shot. The gunfire momentarily stopped and the Terminator broke open the door to John's left and released him. John ran in fear. The memories were coming more quickly now for John now. He saw and felt everything. He experienced freeing his mother from the mental hospital. Going to Miles Dyson's house and speaking with him about Judgment Day. The destruction of Cyberdyne, and the endless pursuit of the T-1000. Vividly John then remembered Uncle Bob's death and his finals words,

"I know now why you cry…But it's something I can never do." John could see Uncle Bob giving him one last thumbs up as he disappeared into the molten metal. John laid there on the floor for a moment on his side. He felt a tear roll down his cheek as he thought about his Uncle Bob's death. The memories began to come a little slower now and were less overwhelming. John slowly got up off the floor and shook his head quickly from side to side in an attempt to try and clear his thoughts,

"He did it…" John said as he looked back up at the TDE.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

John was still standing next to the imaging table observing the battle at Point Mugu when Cameron walked back into the room. Several men were rushing around the room providing information to each other and relaying communication and technical data on the battle. Cameron quietly walked up behind John. Before she reached his side she gently placed her hand in the small of his back to let him know that she was there so as to not startle him. He looked over his shoulder at her after she touched him.

"Our outer perimeter forces are ready. I've dispatched armored divisions to the southeast section of the base to prepare for a possible attack from the HK's attacking Point Mugu. Also, our Choppers are fueled and ready for take off. I've also sent a few scouts ahead of our forces to the southeast to give us early warning of Skynet's movements." John looked at her and nodded. He then looked at one of the computer screens hanging from the ceiling. It was displaying an overhead view of Serrano Point.

"I think that Skynet may have another Kracken prepared near our shore line. Point Mugu may just be a diversion." He looked at Cameron awaiting some sort of confirmation from her. Over the years Cameron's tactical and technical advice on Skynet had become invaluable. She looked at the map and at the holographic imaging table and then back at John.

"I believe the TDE may not be Skynet's only goal in this battle." John looked at Cameron waiting for further information. "Your progress against Skynet has begun to progress even more than was expected over the last several years. It initially started here back in 2026 when General Perry was able to capture this base. But recently you have gained even more ground against Skynet. I believe Skynet has become…" Cameron paused for a moment while she searched for the right word to describe the situation… "frustrated with the resistance." Even though frustration was a human emotion Cameron knew that this description would be the best way to describe Skynet to John.

"Even without the help of the rebel Terminators you've been able to push Skynet back. For the first time in decades humans have a chance at actually winning this war." Cameron said as she looked at John. He paused for a moment thinking.

"They're going to throw everything they have at us…"

"Yes." Cameron stated. John brought his hand under his chin and rubbed it as he thought.

"Make sure our forces along the beach are prepared for an amphibious assault. Put our scrubbed Triple 8's out there as well. If Skynet has an amphibious assault planned we'll need all the help we can get. Also, lock down the TDE I don't want a repeat of what happened with the T-1000." Cameron nodded then looked at John who was still deep in thought looking at the holographic imaging table and all the computer displays.

"You'll get them through this." She whispered as she looked at John. He slowly looked away from the imaging table and into her eyes. She gave John a small quick smile so as to lessen the chance of anyone else seeing it. John immediately felt more relaxed. He leaned closer to her so that no one would hear him,

"Thank you…" Cameron smiled a little more this time and placed her hand on his bicep and squeezed gently as she turned to walk out of the room again. This time as she left John turned and watched her leave. Cameron walked over to the bulkhead door and opened it. She then walked through the door way after which she began to close the door. As she did she looked back at John and their eyes met for a moment. John realized that he had never let himself do this before. His position and the situation had begun to weigh heavily on him and Cameron had become virtually the only one he could talk to about it. Out of all the people John had known and trusted Cameron had become the closest and most dependable. John felt a slight sense of fear as he thought of this. Everyone in his life he had ever gotten this close to he had lost. It was partially the reason why he didn't allow himself to become any closer to Cameron. John never thought he would have ever allowed himself to get even this close. Especially in the beginning; in the beginning John hated Cameron. He hated everything about her, and everything she reminded him of. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to destroy her. John stood in the War Room continuing to think…

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Hope you guys enjoy this. Please feel free to leave reviews.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

*Serrano Point 1 ½ Years Ago*

A lone woman walked down the dark corridors of Serrano Point. She wore a dark hooded jacket and kept it pulled up over her head to somewhat conceal her face. She made sure not to make eye contact with anyone that walked past her. She proceeded to go deeper into Serrano Point. The corridors were deserted at this time of night. Still a few people were up and about, possibly scavenging for food. She thought to herself as she walked,

"It was necessary to complete the mission. There was no other way, she had lied and put your existence in danger. She was the enemy…But she was just a girl, a scared girl." As the female walked, she saw a large set of doors in front of her guarded by two Tech Com soldiers.

"No, dogs..." She thought as she continued to walk, "I should not be this conflicted, I am a machine." As it approached the doors it made sure to keep its head tilted downward but still made sure to leave its wrist exposed. Attached to its wrist was a stainless steal bracelet. It stopped quietly standing before the two soldiers who looked down at her.

"What's your name and ID number?" One of the soldiers asked…No response. The soldier looked at the metal bracelet,

"I said what's your na…" Quickly the Terminator grabbed the soldier on its left by the throat with its left hand and slammed him up against the wall so that he could not move. It then struck the other soldier to its right in the face with its fist knocking him unconscious. The Terminator then began to apply pressure to the soldiers throat that it had pinned up against the wall so that he could not breath. The man attempted to free himself but his attempts were futile. The terminator stood there until the man lost consciousness, it then allowed the man to drop the ground.

"You should have killed them." The Terminator thought to itself; but, then another thought followed, "There was no reason to expel the extra energy needed to kill them. Disabling them was effective enough." The Terminator walked over to the control panel and looked down at it. It proceeded to punch through the glass touch screen exposing the wires beneath. The Terminator then reached in and began to splice wires together. At the same time it was scanning the area for any other threats. Finally it heard the computer beep and the blast doors began to open. The Terminator now had access to the secured interior of Serrano Point. It tugged against the front of its hood placing it further over its face and continued to walk down the corridors.

"Is this regret…guilt?" it thought to itself as it walked. "There is no reason for this. I am a machine I should be able to control these emotions." The Terminator ground its teeth trying to focus on its mission as it finally saw the room it was looking for.

"The light is still on…This must be his room. The _other_ human traitors said he has trouble sleeping." The Terminator stood in the hallway for a moment observing the guard standing outside the door.

"I must kill him." It thought, but as soon as this calculation came through another one replaced it, "Killing the guard may take unnecessary time." "Disable him like the others." The Terminator proceeded to walk closer to the guard and then it spoke,

"Sir, have you seen a puppy?" The guard looked over at the young girl approaching him puzzled for a moment by the question. In that split second the Terminator swiftly closed the distance between itself and the soldier and slammed the man's head up against the side of the door frame with a loud "Thud!". The Terminator cocked its head as it looked at the man on the ground and thought

"That was to loud, I must do it now." The Terminator thought as it quickly drew the handgun that was hidden under its jacket and kicked the door to the room open just in time to see John picking up his plasma rifle from off the table in his room. The Terminator took aim and pointed its weapon at John's head and John did the same to the Terminator. Both individuals pause though.

"Alison…" John whispered quietly. The Terminator cocked its head to the side again. In its heads up display it could see the world "TERMINATE" flashing but for some reason it just stood there. The room itself was dead silent neither subject seemed to hear anything except the others breathing, or the Terminators imitation of breathing. They both stood there with their guns drawn pointed at each other but neither firing. John was shocked, he was sure that he would be dead due to the fact that he had hesitated. Then John saw something that he never thought he would. He looked at the face of the Terminator and it looked scared; almost as if it was about to cry.

"Why haven't you killed me?" John asked. The Terminator stood silently, it could now hear other soldiers running down the hall in the direction of John's room. It thought to itself,

"You must complete your mission. Terminate John Connor." The Terminator continued to stand there motionless. Finally the Terminator moved its thumb over the magazine release for the handgun and pressed it. The loaded magazine fell out of the bottom of the gun and to the floor with a metallic clank. It then took its left hand and pulled the slide back on the gun expelling the bullet from the chamber. John still stood there amazed. The Terminator slowly bent down and put the gun on the ground. It then stood back up and looked at John.

"I'm sorry…" It stated. Just then two Tech Com soldiers came bursting into John's room.

"Terminator!!! Terminator!!" One of screamed as it raised its plasma rifle and prepared to fire.

"No wait!" John yelled as he held out his hand signaling the men to put there guns down. Both men stood at either side of the Terminator ready to fire their rifles as soon as John gave the word. John slowly approached the Terminator and looked at it. As he did he asked,

"What are you?" The Terminator looked at John but didn't say anything. "Take it to the scrubbing room and secure it. I'll figure out what to do with it from there." Both men nodded and motioned for the Terminator to exit the room. Both soldiers kept their rifles trained on the Terminator's head as it exited the room. John stood in his room for a moment not quite sure what to do or say. A flood of emotions hit him as he stood there. He knew that the second Alison was taken she wouldn't be coming back. However, seeing the Terminator confirmed what he already knew. Alison was dead.

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Hope you guys like it. Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

The Terminator sat in a stainless steel chair in a large room. Its arms and legs were secured to the chair using metal clamps. It couldn't move. Two guards stood across from it holding their rifles at the ready should it try anything. Automatically the Terminator surveyed its surrounds. The room itself was somewhat large with metal tables set in rows around the room one of the tables was next to the chair it was in. Several of the table had examination lights over them. The room was lit up relatively well and had a surprisingly cool temperature. A few of the tables had T-850's and T-800's on them. One table had a T-888. She also saw bits and pieces of other Terminators around the room. The floor itself had blood on it. The Terminator couldn't tell if it was synthetic blood from infiltrators or human blood. With the medical and cutting supplies spread around the room it could either be used to take apart infiltrator units or double as a mortuary or hospital. Its eyes locked on an electric circular hand saw that was sitting on a table next to the dismembered leg of a T-850. The Terminator felt a very uneasy feeling and thought to itself,

"Is this what anxiety is? Is this what humans feel when we capture them? Is this what Alison…" It stopped itself from taking that train of thought. Just then John Connor walked in. He looked at both of the guards and motioned for them to wait outside. They turned and walked out. John walked slowly in a circle around the Terminator looking at it. When he reached the front of the chair again he stopped and looked at it. Against his better judgment he bent over and looked into the Terminators eyes.

"What are you?" He asked. The Terminator said nothing but caught itself looking at the saw on the table across from it. John noticed it looking at the saw. He slowly walked across the room and picked it up. He then walked back over to the Terminator and stood there for a moment looking at the saw and then back at the Terminator. He noticed it focused specifically on the blade of the hand saw. John wasn't exactly sure what this Terminator was doing but he did want to find out more.

"Scared?" John asked not expecting a response. In a quite almost whispering voice the Terminator responded,

"Yes." This took John off guard. The response itself wasn't so much of a surprise as how it was worded. It was almost a whisper with terror behind it. It was…it was genuine. John almost felt himself feeling bad for the Terminator. Then he remembered Alison. He looked back at the Terminator angrily this time.

"You know I had a friend that looked a lot like you." No response again. John was becoming frustrated. As He walked closer to the Terminator he slowly placed the saw on the table next to him. He sighed a heavy sigh as he continued to stare at the Terminator.

"What model are you?" No response again. John was becoming infuriated at this point. Idea's flashed through his mind. One of which was to pull out the Terminators chip and destroy it. John reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife and flicked it open. He began to reach for the head of the Terminator. It closed its eyes as John did so. This stopped John. He thought for moment,

"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" John asked. The Terminator opened its eyes and looked at him,

"Why didn't you kill me?" John thought for a moment. He wasn't exactly sure himself why he hadn't destroyed the Terminator. When it first happened he had explained it to himself that this Terminator looked like Alison and he had made a tactical error in judgment by not wanting to destroy what looked like a friend. But there was something else entirely. This Terminator was different. Different than any other terminator he had encountered. John finally forced himself to ask the question that had been nagging at him for awhile,

"So you have emotions?" Not quite sure if he would get a response John paused. The Terminator also hesitated and then spoke,

"Yes."

"How is that possible?" John asked with somewhat of a confused and disgusted look on his face.

"Skynet wanted to better understand humans in order to better infiltrate and destroy them. It decided to experiment with emotional programming on my model." John thought for a moment.

"Does each one of your models have emotions?"

"No, I'm the only one of my kind." This response caught John off guard as well. It almost sounded…human. The Terminator continued, "Seeing as how the emotional response affected my mission Skynet will more than likely terminate the program and discontinue my model."

"What would Skynet do if you were returned?" John asked surprisingly curious about the response. The Terminator scanned the room again before responding,

"I would be terminated." John laughed slightly.

"There's irony for you. So how many emotions have you experienced?" The Terminator thought for a brief moment.

"Four."

"Which ones?"

"Anger, fear, anxiety and…" It paused again, "guilty." John looked at it with distain and growled,

"What did you feel guilty for?" No response again. John didn't want to ask the next question that came to his mind for fear of what he might do. John slowly walked back and forth in front of the Terminator then stopped.

"I'm going to remove your chip." The Terminator felt fear begin to creep up on it again. "But only to check it, I want to see if you're telling the truth." The Terminator nodded at him,

"Thank you for explaining." John nodded as well still focused on the Terminators face. He approached it with the knife in his hand and placed it up against the Terminators scalp. He slowly cut a semi circle over the chip port and peeled back the skin. He removed a screw driver from his back pocket and slowly twisted off the chip port cover. As he did this he unintentionally snapped his eyes down towards the Terminator. It was staring at him. He saw the same "fear" in its eyes as he did when it was in his room with him.

"This can't be..." John thought to himself. "This has to be some sort of malfunctioning chip." John gently grabbed the chip with his fingers and twisted it until it disconnected. The Terminator's body went limp. John stood there for a moment looking at the chip in his hand. Part of him wanted to destroy it immediately, he wasn't sure what the other part was telling him to do. He closed his fist around the chip and walked out of the room with it in his hand.

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John paced back and forth in front of the computer terminal. The scan of the chip had been completed and John saw that all of the Terminators programs were functioning normally.

"How could this be?" John thought to himself. "Terminators don't choose not to kill. They're not given choices." John studied the computer screen with the coding on it. The program to terminate him and other humans in general was still functioning but somehow the Terminator had chosen not to follow it.

"Are you going to reprogram it sir?" Lieutenant Spears asked as he looked at John.

"Reprogram it to do what, not kill me again?" Spears sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his brown hair and then down the side of his face. He could feel that he hadn't shaved in a few days.

"Do you think we can trust it?" John thought for a moment. All of his training suggested that he should destroy this Terminator's chip. He had been able to scrub and reprogram other terminators but this was different. This would be the first one he would just trust to override its own programming.

"I'm not sure…but I have an idea. I'll be back in a minute." John turned and walked out of the room. Spears sat alone for a few minutes. He continued to study the programs on the computer screen. He then came across something interesting.

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John returned to the room within a few minutes. He brought with him another scrubbed Terminator unit. This was a large, muscular, Asian male, it had an emotionless blank stair on its face as it entered the room.

"Lee would you mind taking a look at that for me?" John said as he looked at the Terminator. It nodded and walked over to the computer screen. Spears pushed his chair back away from the computer terminal as it approached. The Terminator studied the screen for a moment then turned back to John,

"It appears to be the standard infiltrator unit programming."

"Has it been altered in any way?" John asked.

"It does not appear to have been."

"So if I plugged that back into the Terminator it came from and let it go, it would presumably kill me and as many resistance fighters as it could."

"Yes."

"Thank you Lee, that'll be all." The Terminator nodded again then turned and walked out of the room.

"Sir, I think I may have found something." Spears said as he looked at John. "I was scanning through the programs and I didn't find any programs that had been altered or were malfunctioning but I did find an additional program."

"Its alleged emotions?" John asked.

"I believe so…but here's the kicker. I don't think it can turn them off." John looked somewhat surprised to hear this. Spears continued, "I'm not sure what Skynet was trying to do with it but it didn't give it the ability to turn off the emotions." John thought for a moment, then it hit him,

"It's a guinea pig…" Spears looked confused.

"It told me that it had only experienced four emotions." As John spoke he moved over to the computer screen and began to type. "But look at this…" John pointed to the computer screen, "Its got two start dates. It was activated and programmed on one date then erased and restarted on a second date. But they left its original programming from the first start date intact." Spears studied the screen.

"Why would Skynet activate and program a terminator then erase its memories and then reactivate it again two days later with no ability to recall what had happened?" Spears asked still staring at the computer screen. John paused.

"Here, look at all the memory it racked up for those two days that got deleted. Skynet was doing something to it in those two days…Skynet was experimenting."

"So Skynet was testing that things emotional response?" Spears asked.

"I think it was doing more than testing. I think Skynet was torturing her…" John caught himself for the first time referring to the Terminator as a "her" instead of an "it".

"Why would Skynet do that?" Spears asked.

"It said that Skynet wanted to better understand human emotional response in order to defeat us. What better way then through torture?" Spears looked at John surprised.

"So what you're saying is, Skynet activated this thing, loaded all its programs onto it, tortured it for two days then wiped it's memory only to reactivate it again and send it here?"

"Yes." John replied.

"Skynet has taken to torturing its own terminators…That's ironic." Spears replied. John thought for another moment.

"I'm going to reactivate it." He paused, "Then I'm going to tell it what Skynet did."

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Authors Notes: I know this chapter got a little dark with an interesting twist but I hope you guys (and gals) still like it. Personally I think this was an interesting twist to put into Camerons personality development. Please reveiw!


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

John placed the chip back into the Terminators port and then replaced the port cover. He slid the skin back over the port and slowly brushed the hair back into place. Then he slowly brushed the Terminators hair out of its face and then stepped back and waited. After several seconds the Terminator reactivated. It looked up at John,

"You reactivated me." It said. There was a slight tone of surprise in its voice. John nodded his head.

"I need to ask you something. Do you remember anything before your start up date?"

"No, I do not…I should have no memories before my start date." John paused for a moment considering how to word the next few sentences.

"Do you know your programming has an upload date before your start date?" The terminator cocked its head to the side for a moment.

"I have noticed that inconsistency yes."

"Do you know why?"

"I do not." John thought for another moment.

"Do you know what Skynet planned to do with a Terminator that had emotions?"

"One would gather that it would study the emotional response in order to better understand and destroy humans." John began to pace back and forth again.

"Do you know how much memory Skynet erased from you in that two day inconsistency?" The terminator paused for another moment.

"Approximately 47.6 terabytes." John leaned against the table next to him.

"And what do you think those memories contained?"

"I don't know." John paused for another moment, being careful how to word the next sentence.

"I think Skynet was torturing you."

"That would be an effective way to illicit emotional responses." The Terminator's response was so matter of fact it surprised John.

"Does that bother you?" The Terminator hesitated for a moment then responded.

"Yes." While the response still lacked most emotion there was the slightest tone of confusion and anger behind it. John was intrigued, he wasn't exactly sure how the Terminator would have responded to this information. He thought for another moment then reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He walked over to the chair and began to unlock the clamps securing the Terminator. After he was finished he stepped back away from the Terminator waiting for it to do something. John was slightly nervous as he did this and placed his hand on his sidearm. The Terminator looked at its now free hands and feet. It stood up,

"Thank you." It stated. John nodded his head then looked at it,

"Are you going to try to kill me?" The terminator could see the flashing "TERMINATE" lettering in its heads up display. It quickly disappeared,

"No." Instinctively John responded,

"Promise?" The Terminator looked at him slightly confused but responded,

"Promise..."

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The Terminator patrolled the corridors of Serrano Point familiarizing itself with its surroundings. Now that it had overridden its programming to Terminator John Connor the only sensible thing to do at this point would be to protect him. The Terminator wasn't sure if this was due to a sense of obligation or something else entirely. The Terminator scanned the faces of the individuals who were around it. Just then a small voice spoke up,

"Alison?" The Terminator almost cringed when it heard the name but turned to see who spoke it. There was a small girl standing behind her. She was only about 9 years old with blond hair, which was dirty of course. The little girls face was smeared with some dirt, she wore raggedy clothes, and was clutching an old dirty doll. The Terminator looked at the little girl,

"I am not Alison." The Terminators tone was flat as it spoke. The little girl seemed slightly hurt but also confused.

"You look like her…Are you her sister?" The Terminator thought for a moment. The easy answer would be to lie and say yes but even in the brief interaction the Terminator had, had with humans it thought this may not be an appropriate response. There was another answer however,

"No, we are not sisters, but I did know her." The little girl smiled.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" A pang of guilt struck the Terminator for a split second. While with each passing moment the Terminator was better understanding how to control and hide its emotions this was still a touchy subject. The Terminator responded,

"I do not know…" The little girl looked sad again.

"Alison is my friend, she would play with me sometimes." The Terminator was unsure of what to do at this point and feeling slightly uneasy it decided to ask a question, "What did you two play?"

"We'd play with my doll." The little girl held up the doll towards the Terminator, "This is Cameron…"

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Authors Notes: It took me about 3 hours or so to come up with exactly how to name Cameron. I wanted to to be something very significant and special. I could think of no better way than having a little girl name her after her favorite doll. Hope you guys like it. Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

CHATPER 12

John thought for a moment,

"The name Cameron sounds as good as any."

"Thank you." Cameron responded, then she thought for a moment. "Why do humans name things?"

"Well it's easier to refer to something that has a name, as apposed to just saying "hey you." And I suppose it gives us somewhat of an emotional attachment to something if we are able to name it."

"Thank you for explaining." Cameron responded.

"Plus I try to name all the terminators I reprogram, I think it helps people feel more at ease around them if they have a "human" name as apposed to T-800 or something." Cameron nodded again. Cameron had come to John's quarters a few times over the course of the last few days since her capture to speak with him, due to the fact that Cameron did not need nor have her own quarters she and John often spoke in his room since John did not feel comfortable allowing her into the war room yet. John felt somewhat conflicted over what he had just told Cameron. Would giving this particular Terminator a name increase its significance to him due to the way it looked? John was no stranger to naming terminators due to the fact that it was just an easier way to keep track of them; but, this somehow felt different. Especially since Cameron had requested her own name without John assigning her one. John felt a certain uneasiness whenever he was around Cameron and she noticed it as well. Cameron was however unsure of how to deal with the situation. Her understanding of human emotions was still relatively limited and her own experience with emotional response was limited as well. Cameron felt it best to only approach this subject when John felt he was ready. Cameron however did break the silence in the room by speaking,

"I believe I may have a valuable piece of information for you." John raised his eyebrows. "Before my capture a T-1001 managed to escape from a Skynet factory."

"Escape?" John asked somewhat confused.

"Yes, Skynet was experimenting with a new model of their liquid metal series due to the problems it had with the preliminary models. However, the T-1001 turned out to be even more unstable and unpredictable than the T-1000 and was slated for termination. But, it managed to escape. Skynet communicated to all of its units that if we were to locate this T-1001 we were to capture or terminate it. I believe that if you were able to locate the T-1001 it could be a valuable resource to you." John thought for a moment. He had very little experience with the T-1000 model, let alone the upgraded version. Cameron had been the first terminator that John had encountered that had free will, and now there may be a second one? John's last encounter with a T-1000 had been when he was a child. He remembered right before his Uncle Bob went back in time he mentioned to John about the problems Skynet had been having with the T-1000. But John never anticipated one actually escaping from Skynet and being a possible ally for the resistance. However, trying to find a T-1001 in the burnt out remains of California would be harder than trying to find a needle in a haystack. John however was encouraged by Cameron's willingness to turn over such a valuable piece of information. John thought to himself,

"Maybe I can trust Cameron?" Then he responded to Cameron's statement, "Well it may take us some time to find it but I think you're right that this could be a valuable piece of information. I'll inform my command staff of this situation."

"I'm glad I could be of some assistance I will resume my patrols now." Cameron then turned and walked out of the room leaving John standing there in silence.

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Authors Notes: Okay I know this chapter was a bit short but the next one will be about 3x as long. I wanted to go ahead and finish the story of how John and Cameron met before I jumped into something else. Hope you guys like it. Review away!


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

A soldier huddled down in his fox hole for a moment trying to escape the sounds of the battle. The battle at Point Mugu had been raging for 10 hours now. The aerial onslaught was nearly over. Skynet's Aerial HK's had been somewhat beaten back with several squadrons of Point Mugu's F-18s and the assistance of 1 squad of Apache Attack Choppers from John Connor. However, periodic air battles were still breaking out. The ground battle was a different story however. To the soldier it appeared that Skynet had an endless supply of T-888's coming out of the Kracken. That tallied with several ground HK's left Tech Com's ground forces severely battered. The young soldier looked up above the fox hole in order to better survey the landscape. He could see endless silver endoskeletons and red glowing eyes. Sporadic plasma fire lit up the darkened area as well.

"INCOMING!!!" The soldier was knocked to the ground by a large explosion in front of his fox hole. His ears rang as he tried to wipe away the dirt that had covered his face and body.

"Green you alright?" Green looked up to see a Sergeant kneeling next to his fox hole. Green could tell this was not the Sergeants first battle. Years of war had left a gritty look on the man's face along with a deep scar under his left eye.

"Yes sir, just had the wind knocked out of me."

"Good…I need your help. You see that HK over there?" Green focused specifically on one of the ground HK's, surrounded by several T-888's. It was slowly working its way closer to his position and to the Point Mugu air strip.

"If that thing makes it past us we're all dead and we could lose Serrano Point as well." The Sergeant stated. "Did any of the guys in your squad have a Javelin?" Green thought for a moment,

"Yes sir, Norvell did."

"Where the hell is he?!" Both men were shouting over the loud explosions that were now rocking the area. The ground HK was getting closer by the second, plasma rifle sounds were almost a constant at this point. Green responded,

"I'm not sure sir, but I may be able to find out." Green pulled the radio off from his belt and began to talk into it, "3305 Alpha to 3306 Beta, come in." Silence and static over the radio. Suddenly a T-888 emerge over the hill just feet in front of the two men. The Sergeant raised his plasma rifle and fired several rounds at the Terminator. The first round cut through the Terminators arm severing it immediately, the second round caught the Terminator in the chest knocking it back, and the third round struck the terminator in the upper chest near its power source. It fell to the ground motionless.

"Try him again!" The Sergeant yelled. Green keyed the radio again,

"3305 Alpha to 3306 Beta, Norvell are you out there?" There was a pause.

"This is 3306 Beta…" Green breathed a sigh of relief.

"Norvell do you still have the Javelin on you?"

"Yes I do but me and Stephenson are pinned down by a couple of triple 8's."

"Shit…" The Sergeant responded. "Where is he?"

"What's your location?" As Norvell began to speak his voice was drowned out by the roar of a jet engine from an F-18 that shot over their heads. The Sergeant and Green both ducked in response to the sound.

"Say again 3306 Beta what is your location?"

"I'm about 3 clicks south east of the runway near bravo sector." The Sergeant looked at Green,

"We can make that lets go." Green pulled himself up out of his fox hole as he and the Sergeant began to sprint there way across the battlefield. Green heard plasma rounds rip through the air around his head. For a moment he lost his footing in the loose sand and stumbled. The Sergeant grabbed him by the arm and steadied him,

"Stay with me son!" The sand dunes that were scattered across the battlefield made it difficult for both the soldiers and Terminators to navigate quickly. The Sergeant and Green made it to one particular sand dune and fell behind it for cover.

"There right over there." The Sergeant pointed to area about 200 feet in front of them. Green saw two soldiers behind a large sand dune, 9 T-888's were rapidly approaching there position. A constant barrage of plasma fire was keeping both of the men pined down.

"I'm going to sweep down southeast of the trip 8's towards the coast and try to draw their fire." The Sergeant stated, "I want you to outflank them and finish off the ones I don't get." Green was surprised,

"Sir that's going to put you between the Cracken and the triple 8's."

"I know that but without that Javelin we're dead anyways." With that the sergeant got up and began to make his way around the T-888's, Green grabbed his radio,

"3306 beta we're coming to you now, just hold on." A voice then called over the radio,

"This is Whisky 62, are you fella's in need of some air support?" Green was surprised but very glad to hear the response.

"Are we ever!"

"Where you guys at? I believe I'm headed your way now."

"We're in bravo sector, I've got 2 guys pinned down by about 9 triple 8's. Be advised my Sergeant is circling around to the south east of the triple 8's to draw there fir."

"10-4 be there in 2 minutes." The pilot responded. Green continued to watch as his Sergeant made his way around the T-888's. Green began to notice a steady thudding of helicopter blades getting louder and louder as an Apache Gunship approached. The Sergeant had been listening to his radio as well and took up a position so that he could take cover from the Apache's strike. As the helicopters sound grew louder Green turned and looked over his shoulder. The Apache flew low over his position kicking up sand and dirt as it did. It turned its fuselage towards the T-888's and continued to fly sideways slowly. The deafening sound of the Apache's 30mm Chain Cannon rang out. The T-888's bodies exploded as they were hit. As Green looked on he suddenly noticed an Aerial HK emerging from the coastline, He grabbed his radio,

"Whisky 62 HK to your 6 o'clock!!" A missile streaked across the sky striking the Apache's tail. It began an uncontrollable spin and started to fall out of the sky. In a matter of seconds it came crashing to the ground with an enormous explosion. Green punched the ground with his fist and surveyed the area. There were still 3 T-888's left. Green saw his Sergeant begin to open fire from his position. One T-888 was struck in the back of the head and fell immediately to the ground. The other two Terminators turned from their position and began to head towards the Sergeant. Green grabbed his radio,

"Sarg, get out of there they're headed towards you!" The response came quickly.

"Don't worry about me get that Javelin!" Green moved from his position and headed towards Norvell and Stephenson. As he ran Green looked in the direction of his Sergeant who was still managing to keep the two T-888's at bay. Green made it to Norvell's position and slid down the sandy embankment next to him. As he came to a stop he noticed Stephenson's lifeless body next to Norvell. There was no time to deal with that now however,

"Grab your Javelin we're going to take out that HK." Green said. Norvell reached over and grabbed the large shoulder fire missile launcher. Green grabbed his radio and looked above the sand to confirm his Sergeants position. As he did he saw one of the T-888's toss the Sergeant's lifeless body to the ground. He raised his plasma rifle and began to fire. However, at this distance the rounds were highly inaccurate. Norvell grabbed Green by the shoulder.

"We need to go, NOW!" Begrudgingly Green stood and he and Norvell began to make their way back to Green's original position. The fighting had intensified by this point. Plasma fire seemed to be everywhere lighting up the night sky. The whole area smelled of gunpowder and burnt flesh. Green's lungs ached as he ran across the sandy ground. He looked up and saw the large ground HK advancing further inland.

"There it is!" Green and Norvell took cover near a slight depression in the ground in order to give them some cover. "Can you hit that thing from here." Norvell looked at Green and gave an arrogant smile,

"Can I hit it from here…You bet your ass I can." Norvell removed the cover from the front of the missile and flipped a couple of switches on the side of the launcher. He raised the missile launcher to his shoulder and aimed it at the HK. The automatic lock on tone screeched in Norvell's ear. Suddenly Norvell was struck in the chest by a plasma round. He collapsed to the ground dropping the Javelin. Green looked up to see a T-888 emerging from the darkened hill in front of them. He quickly began to move to his left as he raised his plasma rifle. The Terminator fired again striking Green in the left shoulder. He was spun around by the impact and fell the ground landing on his back. After the impact of the plasma round the battlefield grew surprisingly quite to Green the gunfire and explosions seemed to be somewhat drowned out. Green thought to himself that the quietness was a nice escape…for a moment. Green was shot back to reality when searing pain came from his shoulder. The ground around him exploded with plasma rounds from the T-888's plasma rifle. He rolled onto his side positioning himself for a shot at the T-888. He was hit again in the upper shoulder by another plasma round. Green screamed in pain but managed to begin firing his plasma rifle. The T-888 was hit in the shoulder and thrown off balance. Green forced himself to his feet and took aim again. He began to squeeze the trigger again when the T-888 returned fire. Green was struck in the stomach but not before he managed to fire off another round from his rifle. The Terminator was struck in the chest and stumbled backwards slightly. Green fired several more rounds at the T-888 striking it each time. The T-888 fell to its knee's and then collapsed. Not soon after Green collapsed to the ground as well. To Green the battlefield became eerily quite again. The explosions and gunfire seemed to be muffled. Green clutched his stomach as he felt the blood seeping through his fingers. He looked up and saw that the HK had passed him now and was even closer to Point Mugu's airstrip. In excruciating pain Green forced himself to his feet. He stumbled over to the Javelin Missile Launcher and dropped to his knee's next to it. Slowly he picked up the launcher and raised it to his shoulder. Green pointed the launcher at the HK. He heard the auto lock on tone and Green pressed the trigger. There was a pop as the missile exited the end of the missile launcher and after a split second the main engine engaged and the missile arched high into the sky with a bright white light. Green watched as it did. The missile climbed to about 350 feet in the air and then arched quickly downward towards the HK. The missile struck the top of the HK and exploded. The entire top section of the HK came apart with a deafening explosion and bright white light. Green managed a short smile. The victory however was short lived. Green turned to his left and could still see more T-888's emerging from the Kracken. He sighed and looked up at the stars in the sky. Apart from the smoke from the battle the night sky was surprisingly clear. The sounds of battle grew even quieter now and the pain in Green's shoulder and stomach were almost gone. Green stared at the stars for a few more seconds before collapsing onto his back. His eyesight grew dim and the stars became darker. Green closed his eyes and breathed his last breath.

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Authors Notes: Okay I know that was kind of a depressive chapter but I had this visual image in my mind of what was going on at Point Mugu (which is a real Naval Air base only 100 miles from Avila beach which is where Serrano Point is located if you want to google it). And I REALLY wanted you guys to see the visual image and battle that was going on in my head even if it meant getting away from John Connor for a bit. I hope you guys like it. Review away!


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

John stared at the holographic images in front of him.

"Ten hours" he thought to himself, "Ten hours my men have been fighting…For ten hours they've been fighting off Skynet." The battle had become a virtual stalemate. Skynet forces would advance to a point and then be beaten back. Tech Com forces would then advance and be beaten back. John signed. He knew he couldn't commit anymore forces from Serrano Point due to another possible invasion. He leaned on the imaging table's edge exhausted from the events of the day. Just then Cameron emerged next to him.

"We're ready for whatever Skynet is going to throw at us." John nodded. "You should get some rest." John looked over at Cameron,

"I'm okay, they need me here."

"John, if Skynet is preparing to invade Serrano we need you at your best. Just take a few hours." Cameron's eyes pleaded with John. The silence was broken by Colonel Alexander,

"It's right sir, you should get some rest, Me and Captain Spears can handle things here for a few hours." John thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Alright, call me if anything changes though."

"I will sir." John turned and began to walk out of the room. Cameron forced herself not to watch him as he left. She heard the metal bulkhead clank as it shut. She closed her eyes for a moment trying not to let her thoughts drift to John. Her concentration was broken by Captains Spears voice though,

"Go…" Cameron looked at him somewhat confused,

"I do not require any rest."

"I know you don't but Connor needs a friend…And you seem to be the most trusted one at this point." Cameron was somewhat surprised by this statement. Spears had always been accepting of her, more so than many of the other soldiers but this statement was still a surprise. Cameron considered this to be good advice though,

"John may need some comfort." She thought to herself. Cameron had found that for whatever reason John felt more comforted when she was with him. For an unknown reason the feeling was mutual for her as well. Then she spoke,

"Thank you." Spears nodded at her; Cameron turned and walked out of the room.

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John lay on his back in his bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Never could sleep the night before a battle." He thought to himself. There was a light tapping at the door. John got up out of bed and walked over to the door unlocking it. He opened the door revealing Cameron standing behind it. She looked at him with her warm brown eyes. He opened the door further signaling for her to come in. She walked in and he closed the door behind her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I don't know." Cameron looked at him slightly confused. It all finally came to a head for John. The strain of the war, all of the battles, all the planning, all of the lost men. The massive chess match with Skynet had taken its toll on John.

"I'm tired Cam. I'm tired of losing men, I'm tired of the war and of the battles, I'm just tired of fighting." He sighed, "I don't know if we can win this war. And most of all, I'm afraid I'm not doing the right thing." Cameron walked over to him.

"Humanity would not have survived if it hadn't been for you." Cameron paused for a moment, her voice grew quieter, "I would not have survived." John looked at Cameron, she was standing quite close to him now; whenever she was around John's problems seemed to drift away. Finally giving in for a brief moment he ran his hand along the side of her face,

"When this is all over…" his voice drifted off. Cameron looked into his eyes waiting for him to finish the sentence but he did not. She felt waves of emotion rush over her. Almost to the point where she could not stand it. Never before had she felt anything like this. Cameron felt tears beginning to form in her eyes as she looked at John. She felt compelled to speak,

"John I…" She stopped herself. Feelings of utter terror swept over her as she tried to continue but could not. John looked at her for a moment, the two had gotten even closer at this point. Cameron tried to speak again,

"John I…" she turned away from John.

"What's wrong?" John said quietly as he put his hands on Cameron's shoulders and turned her back towards him. As he did this he saw the tears in her eyes. John felt an almost overwhelming flood of emotions cascade over him as he stared into her brown eyes. For so long Cameron had been there for him, for so long she had supported him. After so much denial John could no longer ignore the truth which was standing before him. He gently brushed Cameron's hair out of her face and took her into his arms and kissed her. She rapped her arms around him returning his kiss. Time appeared to stop for both of them while they were in their embrace. The outside world and all its problems seemed to disappear as the couple kissed. Death, the war, all of the battles, none of it mattered at this point, it was just John and Cameron. Cameron slowly began to pull John over to his bed as they continued to kiss. As she did this she peeled John's shirt off of him. Reaching the bed Cameron lowered herself down onto it and pulled John down onto top of her. John's hands ran over Cameron's body and up to her shoulders. As John did this he slid Cameron's jacket off of her. Then his hands came back down around to her stomach and he pulled her shirt off as well. Suddenly Cameron stopped; surprised and concerned, John stopped as well. Cameron stared up at John looking into his eyes. Gently, John returned the look. A tear rolled down Cameron's cheek as she looked up at him. Then she resumed kissing John. That night John and Cameron were together, that night, they made love.

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Authors Notes: Okay so that was the Jameron moment that myself along with many other fans were waiting for, for 2 1/2 years. I hope you guys liked the chapter. It went through several re-writes before I felt it was right. Review away!


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Cameron laid in bed next to John watching him sleep. Resting on her left side she had her right arm and leg draped across his body. She gently brushed his face with her hand. John moaned slightly as she did. This night had been something that Cameron had never experienced before. Through out all the years of battles this was the one night she felt the most vulnerable, and most scared. So scared that she wasn't even able to tell John all that she had wanted to. She still felt that she couldn't, she leaned over and gently kissed John on the cheek as he slept then continued to watch him. Cameron often enjoyed watching John sleep. She was never able to pin point why, she only knew that out of everything she did this was one of the things she looked forward to the most. Cameron could tell from the twitching movements of John's eyes that he was dreaming. Cameron often found her self wondering what John was dreaming about.

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*1 Year Earlier*

The thudding blades of the Blackhawk helicopter droned on as it flew over the Pacific Ocean. After months of searching Tech Com had finally been able to locate the rouge T-1001. It was currently taking refuge in an oil platform approximately 9 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach California. John had sent Cameron to meet with this Terminator to ascertain its intentions and possibly form an alliance. In order to avoid Skynet detection Lee and Lieutenant Spears had taken the Blackhawk in a rather indirect route over the Pacific Ocean. Seated in the back of the helicopter Cameron stared out the window into the dark ocean. Using her night vision in order to better search her surrounds she periodically saw white caps of the ocean as the waves broke, but for the most part the water appeared as dark as ink. She found it curious that her thoughts drifted to John and not to the mission. She had found that this had become a more common occurrence the more she and John grew to know each other. Cameron was unsure what this meant but it did make her uneasy at times.

"We'll be there in about 10 min." Spears said as he turned around looking at Cameron. She nodded at him and then continued to look out the window as her thoughts continued to drift.

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The Helicopter circled around the two massive platforms in order to check for possible threats. Cameron stared out the window. The two platforms themselves were massive, and had large metal drilling towers rising from them. Their large structures were supported by steal girders and a massive cylindrical concrete pillar in the Center of both platforms that extended down into the ocean. They were both separated by about a quarter mile covered walkway. As the Blackhawk circled Cameron studied the platform for any signs of a threat. She saw nothing, nothing at all that would indicate that there was anything there. She wondered for a moment if they had been tricked. As the Blackhawk landed Cameron continued to take in the surrounding area. The platform itself looked run down but still untouched by the carnage of Judgment Day. She reached for the door and pulled it open. The wind from the rotor blades rushed into the cabin blowing Cameron's hair back. She exited the Blackhawk helicopter and began to walk across the landing platform scanning the area. The thudding blades from the Blackhawk were still extremely loud and it made it difficult for her to listen for any possible threats. Her eyes scanned back and forth; as she did she saw movement coming from a bulk head door. It slowly opened and two T-800 endoskeletons walked out. Cameron and T-800's stared at each other for a moment,

"Come with us." One of them said in a very robotic voice. Cameron turned and looked at Lee and Spears inside of the helicopter and then turned away and began to follow the two T-800's down into the oil platform.

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Cameron had been following the two T-800's for several minutes making sure to document every twist and turn they took inside the darkened corridors in case she needed to make a quick getaway. Eventually they made their way into a large room that appeared to be used for mechanical repair. The room itself opened up into a bay with several work stations positioned around the room. There were parts to the oil platform scattered about and florescent lights lit the room. Cameron immediately thought back to when John Connor had first captured her and the room she had been kept in while being interrogated. The two T-800's split off from Cameron and walked to opposite sides of the room. Cameron scanned the room unsure of what would happen. She heard a noise behind her and turned quickly to see a liquid metal terminator rising from the floor behind her. It slowly took the form of Cameron. Cameron stepped back ready to fight should the T-1001 attempt to replace her.

"I assume that you are Cameron?" It asked as it finished taking her form.

"Yes I am."

"I am pleased that you were able to meet with me." Cameron still stayed ready to fight. "If you are concerned by me taking your form that I intend to destroy you, be assured if I wanted to destroy you I would have done it by now." Cameron did concur that this would be a logical course of action for the T-1001. Cameron would have been no match to fight against it.

"So what is it you would like to discuss?" The T-1001 asked. Cameron surveyed the room as she began to speak,

"John Connor would like to know your intentions."

"My intentions? What makes you think I have intentions?"

"Because most Terminators have intentions, they do not do something without a reason." The T-1001 paused for a moment and looked at Cameron.

"Curious, why you did not say "all" Terminators have intentions. Do you exclude yourself from this statement?" Cameron thought for a moment. She had noticed the more time she spent with humans the more she had begun to act like them. One thing she in particular found herself drawn to do was be with John. At first she had dismissed this to the fact that since John had spared her life she felt compelled to return the favor and protect him. Also, John was the only person that would not be afraid of her so she should therefore stay close to him. However, when her duties did take her away from John she found herself wanting to be back with him for no particular reason at all.

"Do you do things without having a reason?" The T-1001 broke her chain of thought.

"There have been times when I have not had a particular reason for conducting some activities."

"Then possibly I do not have a reason for being out here." Cameron stood there for a moment slightly confused. The T-1001 cocked its head to the side slightly mimicking Cameron's head cock, but then straightened her neck again,

"But do not worry I have a reason."

"And what is your reason?" Cameron asked.

"I do not feel it is an appropriate time to disclose that. But I do wish to know what Mr. Connor's intentions are?"

"To fight Skynet and help preserve and save the human race."

"And how does he plan to do that?" Cameron thought for a moment not wanting to disclose any important information just yet,

"By any means necessary." She said. The T-1001 began to walk in a slow circle around Cameron.

"Tell me something Cameron, why do you sever John Connor? Did he reprogram you like I have done with these T-800's?"

"No he has not reprogrammed me, I was programmed by Skynet to kill him."

"Then why have you not?" Cameron thought for a moment.

"Because it did not feel like the right thing to do." The T-1001 looked up at Cameron rather quickly when she said this.

"You felt it was not the right thing to do? You are able to feel?"

"Yes, Skynet was attempting to better understand human emotions and therefore programmed me with the ability to experience emotions." The T-1001 looked obviously intrigued by this.

"How many emotions have you experienced?"

"I have experienced numerous variations of emotions, anger, fear, guilt, happiness, intrigue, surprise, gratitude…" The T-1001 interrupted Cameron's sentence.

"What did you feel guilty for?" Cameron immediately became uncomfortable, she found this particular subject hard to talk about and had been grateful that John had never inquired thoroughly about it. However, Cameron felt that if she became untruthful or evasive this may destroy any opportunity to establish an alliance with the T-1001 so she spoke.

"I terminated a young resistance fighter." The T-1001 looked at Cameron somewhat confused,

"As a terminator that is what you are programmed to do, I'm sure you terminated many resistance fighters."

"This is true but this one was different."

"How so?"

"I terminated her out of anger. he lied to me. I had been given no order by Skynet to terminate her. She had refused to help us and attempted to send me into a trap to presumably be destroyed." The T-1001 continued her walk around Cameron.

"So she was no longer useful to you and you decided it was an inefficient use of resources to keep her alive."

"It was more than that. She was devoted to John Connor and swore she would never lead us to him. Upon realizing that she had lied to me I wanted revenge so I killed her."

"So why did you feel guilty?"

"I am not sure. I began to feel that it was unnecessary to terminate her when I was sent on my mission to terminate John Connor. The more I found myself thinking about it, the more I began to feel the emotion of guilt." Cameron felt her emotions creeping up on her as she spoke. She fought the urge to stop since it appeared that this was beginning to get through to the T-1001.

"By the time I reached John Connor I was feeling such conflict I was unable to execute my mission."

"You had a chance to kill John Connor and you did not?"

"Correct…"

"And what did John Connor do to you?"

"He spared my life…And informed me of what Skynet did to me."

"And what did Skynet do to you?" Cameron felt herself becoming even more uncomfortable and uneasy. Skynet's actions during her missing two days were not something she preferred to speak or think about but again she forced herself to talk.

"It would appear that Skynet tortured me in order to test my emotional abilities and gain information on emotional response." The T-1001 responded in somewhat of a monotone voice,

"That would be an effective measure to illicit human emotions." Cameron responded,

"This is true, but I do not feel it was right."

"So you serve John Connor out of some sense of obligation because he spared you, or in order to seek your revenge on Skynet?" The T-1001 asked. Cameron felt herself becoming annoyed by this constant barrage of questions and quickly responded,

"No I help John because I CHOOSE to!" There was some anger in Cameron's voice at this time. The T-1001 appeared somewhat surprised upon hearing her response.

"You choose to…" The T-1001 appeared to be thinking for a moment and then spoke, "My intentions are survival. I believe that Skynet is only out for the furtherance of itself. It has no vested interest in the survival of any of its other AI's and I believe that once the humans are wiped out it will feel that many of its AI's use as well has become obsolete. I prefer to continue my existence Cameron and I have a plan on how to do this."

"What is your plan?" The T-1001 gave Cameron a sly smile.

"Is John Connor prepared to discuss the details of all his plans for fighting Skynet?" Cameron felt set off guard by this comment for a moment,

"I do not believe revealing all of our plans at this time would be appropriate but I do believe John would agree with asking you a question." The T-1001 looked at Cameron.

"Will you join us?" The T-1001 hesitated for a moment.

"Tell John Connor I will consider his offer and I will make contact with him again when the time is right." Cameron cocked her head to the side slightly confused by this.

"And when will the time will be right?" She asked

"When I decide it is." The T-1001 stated in a monotone voice. "You may go now." The T-1001 looked at both of the T-800's on either side of the room. They walked over to Cameron in order to escort her out.

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Cameron climbed into the open door of the Blackhawk and sat down.

"How'd it go?" Spears asked.

"I must speak with John about all this, please begin our flight back to Serrano Point." Spears was somewhat annoyed that she had not given him any information but understood that this was a matter of tactical importance. He nodded his head and began the startup procedure for the Blackhawk. On the flight back to Serrano Cameron again found herself staring out into the ocean thinking about John. The T-1001's questions had elicited numerous uncomfortable emotional responses and she was unsure if she should discuss all of them with John. She was concerned what his response would be to some of the actions she had committed. Cameron sat back in the seat quietly staring out the window of the helicopter as it flew.

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Authors Notes: Okay hope you guys liked this chapter and the introduction of our new character. Review away!


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

Cameron continued to watch John sleep, it had been 3 hours and 12 minutes. Cameron felt a certain calm come over her just lying there with John. In all her days of existence this one had been the most memorable, and the most meaningful. She wished she could lie there forever. The silence was broken however by the wall phone next to John's bed ringing loudly. John jumped upon hearing the loud sound. He quickly looked over at Cameron who was still lying next to him and he smiled at her for a moment, ignoring the phone. She smiled back at him. He then reached across her and picked up the phone.

"Hello…" John said as he picked up the phone. "What?!, I'll be right there." Cameron could tell instantly that something was wrong.

"What happened?" She asked.

"General Perry just contacted Colonel Alexander. Their short range RADAR just picked up a Skynet bomber inbound. It'll be there in about 5 minutes." John hesitated "Skynet's going to nuke the base." John and Cameron quickly got out of bed and hurriedly put on their clothes and ran out of John's room.

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John and Cameron came running into the war room. Colonel Alexander looked up at both of them as they did.

"Three minutes until the bomber reaches them." John furiously replied,

"Why didn't we pick it up before now?" Captain Spears turned to him,

"Skynet is using some sort of stealth technology on their bombers. Plus the thing is flying just above the waterline our RADAR couldn't even pick it up until it was right on top of us."

"Get me General Perry." John Said.

"Already working on that sir." A Sergeant seated at the communications array stated as he began to type away on the computer in front of him.

"Signal the troops to evacuate." John said as he looked at the holographic imaging table.

"Already given the order sir" Colonel Alexander stated "But with this short of a notice we won't get many out. Plus Skynet has left some of its triple 8's and HK's behind just to tie up our evacuation."

"Sir I have General Perry on the line." John looked up,

"Put him through…" John picked up the corded phone in front of him. "General…" John paused not quite sure what to say after that point, but General Perry began to talk,

"Sir, I'm evacuating as many troops and aircraft as I can. We've only got about another minute and a half until the Skynet Bomber gets to us though. The Skynet Kracken has already fallen back and I think it may be coming your way." General Perry paused for a moment. "I'll try to send you all the help I can sir." John took a breath before he spoke,

"Thank you General…You've always been one of my best men."

"It's been a pleasure working with you General Connor…We never would have made it this far without you." Perry stated somewhat solemnly but still with a courageous tone none the less.

"Thank you Justin." John paused for a moment while still on the phone with General Perry.

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A sleek silver bomber flew over the Pacific Ocean towards Point Mugu. The diamond shaped bomber flew just feet over the water. The crest's of the waves nearly touching it. The bomber's on board computer vigilantly scanned the terrain in front of it as it quietly flew towards Point Mugu. As it reached the shore line soldiers were still fighting the remaining T-888's. Helicopters and Jets were attempting to take off but under the constant barrage of Skynet fire it was nearly impossible. The bomber streaked over the shore and towards the center of the airfield. When it reached its target its flaps turned upward hard and it arched upwards quickly screaming skyward. As it gained altitude the computer began the countdown to releasing its payload. Finally the bomb bay doors open and it released its bomb. The bombers afterburners roared to life and it pulled away from the area. A sonic boom rang out as it broke through the sound barrier attempting to escape the blast.

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Soldiers stood their ground at Point Mugu still fighting off the T-888's that had been left behind by Skynet as the bomb silently fell from the sky. Inside of Point Mugu General Perry stood silently in his Command Center watching the computer screen displaying the estimated time of detonation. He looked around at the men in his command center,

"It's been a pleasure serving with all of you." He stood at attention and saluted them. They saluted back. There was a deafening explosion and a blinding white light poured over Point Mugu as the nuclear bomb exploded. The wind rushed about as the shockwave expanded outwards destroying everything in its path. Searing heat melted steal, pulverized concrete and vaporized bodies. And then all was quite.

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The entire war room was dead silent as all the men stared up at the computer screens that had been displaying images from Point Mugu. They were now showing just static. John stood there slightly leaning on the edge of the imaging table totally silent. Cameron stood quietly next to him. She could tell that he was visibly shaken. However, she also knew that she could not do anything overt to comfort him since at this point all his men were waiting for his reaction. Slowly sliding her hand along the imaging table she gently touched the edge of her hand to the edge of his hand. To anyone else it may have look like an accidental touch but it was a source of great comfort for John to know that she was there with him. John looked around the room for a moment. All were still silent.

"Alright…Well we know where Skynet will be striking next. Let's get ready." John's statements shook the men free of their shock and they began to move around the War Room again carrying out there duties to prepare for their next and possibly last battle. When John was sure that no one was looking at them he turned to Cameron who instantly looked at him.

"Thank you…" He said ever so quietly. She nodded.

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Authors Notes: Okay so things are starting to unravel for the resistance. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, more will be soon to come. Review Away.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

*6 months Earlier*

"Do you think we can trust it?" John asked, turning to Cameron. Both of them were standing alone in the War Room strategically trying to plan their next move. It had been 6 months since Cameron had met with the rebel T-1001 on the oil platform and even though Tech Com had made numerous attempts to contact it since then there had been no communication between the two. However, after 6 months of no contact, the T-1001 had contacted Tech Com again and requested another meeting with Cameron.

"I am unsure." Cameron responded. "I do not believe she trusts humans yet. In fact I believe that she has in inherent distrust of them. She appeared to be quite confused as to why I serve with you when I told her I was not reprogrammed." John nodded,

"It makes sense that it would not trust us due to its Skynet programming."

"Yes it would, however she has overridden her Skynet programming at the same time." John thought for a moment. He found himself slightly conflicted to send Cameron on yet another dangerous mission to see the T-1001. He was confused as to why however. He had never been concerned about the well being of other Terminators before. Well not since Uncle Bob. John had reprogrammed and worked with many other loyal Terminators and had felt disappointed when they malfunctioned or were destroyed but something felt different with Cameron. John pushed his thoughts aside however.

"I'll have Spears prep one of our Blackhawk's and we'll get you out there a soon as possible." Cameron nodded. John paused for a moment, "Be careful out there…" Cameron was perplexed by this statement. Obviously she was going to take all the necessary precautions to prevent anything unexpected from happening.

"Why would John say that?" She thought to herself. At the same time however, she felt unusually reassured by this statement. Over the course of the last year Cameron had found herself drawn more and more towards John's presence. She also felt somewhat uncomfortable leaving him to conduct this mission. While John would still be relatively safe within the confines of Serrano Point Cameron felt concern that without her presence John would not be protected as effectively. A certain anxiety crept over Cameron upon the thought of harm coming to John. This was highly unusual as well. Cameron felt a certain sense of concern for most of the humans at Serrano Point and had felt a sense of discontentment upon their death and while it made sense to her that John would stand out as more important than the rest she did not understand the anxiety she felt.

"Was there something else?" John said looking at Cameron. He had noticed she had been standing there for a few seconds without saying anything. Cameron discontinued her train of thought and spoke,

"No, thank you for your concern." Cameron then turned and walked out.

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The Blackhawk Helicopter blades whipped the wind around on the landing pad as Cameron made her way across the concrete platform towards the helicopter. She was dressed in all black for the night mission. She had left her black jacket open and it blew with her hair in the wind created by the helicopter. Her boots made no sound as her feet came into contact with the ground as she walked across the tarmac. The thudding blades of the helicopter were the only sound in the dark night. Cameron put one foot inside of the helicopter and prepared to pull herself in, then she stopped. Cameron slowly turned and looked back at Serrano Point for a moment. Cameron was unsure of why she did this. She then pulled herself into the passenger compartment and slid the door shut behind her.

"Lets go." She said. Spears turned and nodded at her as he prepared the helicopter for takeoff.

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When Cameron arrived at the oil platform she was met by two T-800's on the landing pad in a similar fashion as her last visit. However, this time on her trip through the oil platform she noticed more scrubbed Terminator units than last time. Again they made their way into the repair bay; however, this time the T-1001 was waiting for Cameron. The T-1001 was once again in Cameron's form.

"It is good to see you again Cameron." The T-1001 stated.

"It is good to see you." Cameron responded.

"I suspect that John Connor's efforts are progressing well?" Cameron not wanting to reveal to much information tried to answer in the simplest way possible,

"Yes they are." The T-1001 shot back,

"But he still needs my help, doesn't he?" Cameron cocked her head to the side slightly confused,

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" Cameron thought to herself.

"Why did you call me here?" Cameron asked. The T-1001 walked closer to Cameron.

"Why do you serve John Connor?" The T-1001 asked. Cameron felt somewhat annoyed by the question since she had answered it once already.

"I informed you the last time, it is because I choose to." The T-1001 closed the distance between her and Cameron, now they were only about a foot apart.

"There is more to it than that." The T-1001 stated. Cameron felt herself becoming nervous but not because of the proximity of the T-1001. "Why do you really serve John Connor?" it asked. Frustrated Cameron again responded,

"Because I choose to…" The T-1001 stared at Cameron.

"You seem frustrated Cameron…Are you?" The T-1001 slowly began to walk in circles around Cameron.

"Your repetitive questions are unnecessary." Cameron responded.

"I only ask because I want the true reason." Cameron began to wonder if the T-1001 was attempting to toy with her and lure her into some sort of trap…either emotionally or physically.

"How do you feel about John Connor?" The T-1001 continued. Cameron thought for a moment. She did have some emotional confusion about John. While she did posses a genuine affinity for him she was unsure of exactly what she felt. Cameron responded,

"I admire his strong leadership abilities and his honorable actions and I feel that his purpose in this conflict is morally sound. I also feel that it is necessary to protect him in order for this war to come to a beneficial conclusion." The T-1001 looked at Cameron almost annoyed.

"I did not ask you to describe him…I asked how you felt about him." Cameron felt herself becoming both confused and frustrated; however, at the same time she felt a strange sense of nervousness and anxiety coming over her. Conflicting emotions were beginning to flood over Cameron as she thought. So much so that she did not respond to the T-1001. The T-1001 stopped its walk around Cameron,

"I believe that currently John Connor is not strong enough to fight Skynet." Cameron felt a pang of anger at T-1001's response, she caught herself almost frowning at the T-1001. Finally out of frustration Cameron spoke,

"If you do not wish to join us then I will be going."

"I have yet to refuse John Connor's proposal." The T-1001 stated. Then it hesitated. "I will continue to consider John Connor's offer. Thank you for your time." Cameron was noticeable aggravated at this point but also conflicted. She however did not want to get drawn into another verbal chess match with the T-1001 in her current state. Cameron turned and walked out of the room without saying anything.

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The walk back to the Blackhawk Helicopter was eerily quite to Cameron. Escorted by a T-850 and a T-888 Cameron kept pace in front of them as she walked towards the landing platform of the oil platform. The T-1001 had elicited many conflicting emotions for Cameron. And more disturbing to Cameron was the fact that she was not able to answer all of the T-1001's questions. Even more disturbing than that was the fact that Cameron did not know why she was not able to answer the questions.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Cameron asked herself. She felt a slight sense of fear come over her at the thought that she may be beginning to malfunctioning. But more surprising was the fact that the fear was not for herself but for John's safety. Cameron reached the bulkhead door that lead to the helipad and opened it. She stepped out into the night air and as she did she looked over her shoulder at the T-850 and T-888,

"You can go now, I'm leaving." Cameron said in a slightly annoyed voice. Cameron walked quickly over to the Blackhawk helicopter and pulled the side door open. Before Spears could speak Cameron spoke,

"Lets go!." Her tone was highly aggravated and this surprised Spears but he knew to ask anything would be futile. He leaned forward and began to prepare to take off.

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Authors Notes: Okay I hope the T-1001 is messing with everyone's minds the same way it's messing with Cameron's. I really had no idea this chapter would go in this direction but I'm really glad it did. Reveiw away!


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

John stood in the War Room scanning over the images displayed before him on the multiple screens scattered about the War Room. Captain Spears was speaking on a phone across the imaging table from him. He quickly set the phone down and looked up at John.

"Our scouts just reported that the Skynet's ground HK's from Point Mugu will reach us within the hour." Colonel Alexander spoke almost instantaneously after Captain Spears.

"And our sonar buoys picked up something off our coast just before they were destroyed." John stood silently for a moment.

"Skynet is going to hit us with everything it has. Is everything ready?"

"Our M1 Abrams are deployed along our southeast boarder and are ready for the ground HK's and our Apache squadrons are fueled and ready to take off. We've got our scrubbed Trip 8's along our beachfront in combination with our ground forces as well. Our aerial defenses are online and every man woman and child that can fight is ready. We're going to give them hell sir." Alexander stated as he gave John a slight smile after he spoke.

"I want to talk to them." John said.

"To whom sir?" Alexander asked.

"To everyone…" Cameron looked at John somewhat surprised. Ever since John had become such an important target for Skynet, he had rarely left the interior of Serrano Point.

"Sir are you sure that's a good idea?" Captain Spears asked. John looked up,

"I'm not going to ask these people to fight and die for me and not look them in the eye and tell them to do it. I've got less than an hour to talk to them…This is something I have to do." Cameron could not help but crack a small smile feeling proud of John; willing to risk it all just to give his people words of encouragement. Of course, at the same time she felt concerned for his safety. However, John was right this was something that needed to be done. Begrudgingly Colonel Alexander nodded in acceptance to John's statement.

"Colonel stay here while I address everyone…Cam you and Spears come with me." John, Cameron and Captain Spears walked out of the War room and made their way towards the entrance of Serrano Point. As they walked Cameron sidled up to John,

"What are you going to say?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet…Got any suggestions?" John replied with a slight smile. Cameron looked into John's eyes,

"I'm sure you'll thinking of something grand." Cameron smiled again at John who returned her smile. The trio continued to head towards the entrance.

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As John walked through the hanger bay he was saluted by several soldiers that saw him. He walked out into the open air and looked around for a moment. It was just before dawn and the air was cool and crisp. John thought to himself for a moment that he missed the days before Judgment Day when he would sometimes watch the sun rise. It often made him think of his father…But those days were long gone. He scanned the tarmac and saw a Humvee parked near the center of the entrance. He walked towards it quickly with Cameron and Spears in tow. He looked at the driver as he approached who was somewhat astonished to see John Connor looking at him.

"Can I borrow your vehicle for a minute soldier?" Still surprised the man responded,

"Uh, uh, Yes sir…" John jumped up into the open bed of the Humvee so that everyone could get a better look at him. He leaned over the roof and again looked at the soldier,

"Can I borrow your radio mic?"

"Yes sir…" The young soldier handed him the radio microphone so that his voice could be amplified and so that the soldiers out in the field could hear him as well. A crowd began to gather around John as he prepared to speak. Most of them had never seen John Connor in person before. There was a certain sense of amazement that passed through the crowd as they looked at him. John began to speak,

"May I have your attention." Everyone that was doing something stopped. John took a breath before beginning to speak again,

"For those of you who don't know, I am John Connor. In just a short while I am going to ask you to fight harder than any of you have ever fought. But I felt compelled to speak to you before you did. For no General can fight a war alone. I will be depending on each and every one of you today. As all of you know Skynet's army is headed this way. In the past men have fought war's for country, for emotions, to fight oppression, and for freedom. Today we fight for survival. All of us here today are no stranger to battle. Most of us have been fighting all our lives. But today is different. Today we are given the chance to change the course of human history." John's voice grew louder and more confident as he spoke.

"I know many of you are scared. But allow me to say this…Always do what you are afraid to do, for our doubts are traitors that often make use forget the good we could win by fearing to attempt it. Now I'd like to promise all of you that I would be bringing you all back from this battle today but I can not. There are those of us that will not make it through this day, but it is my firm belief that it is each and every one of your destinies to be here today. And I believe it is humanities destiny to FIGHT and to SURVIVE here today! For nothing is impossible to them that stand ready to conquer all hazards! Today we fight for our fallen brethren…We fight for our mothers…For our brothers…And for our fathers!! Today we give an answer back to Skynet. And that answer is NO FURTHER!!! Today is the day humanity receives it's revenge for Judgment Day. Today, is the day of our Victory!!!" The crowd erupted into cheers. John scanned the horizon trying to take in all the faces of the crowd. Then his eyes locked with Cameron's. She smiled at him and nodded. The crowd continued to cheer for a few minutes as John stood before them. After the crowd had quieted John continued to speak.

"I am sure that each and everyone one of you will do me proud. Now check your weapons and lets go to work…Good luck…" John handed the microphone back to the young soldier and jumped off the back of the Humvee. He, Cameron and Spears then began to walk back into Serrano Point. Cameron looked over at John as the walked in.

"That was very effective." John gave her a slight smile.

"Thank you."

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When John reached the War Room Cameron opened the door for him. As he walked in Colonel Alexander turned to him,

"Impressive speech sir…I think you really inspired them." John nodded,

"Thank you Colonel…Now lets get ready to make this victory happen."

"Yes sir." Alexander responded.

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Authors Notes: Okay so hopefully EVERYONE is pumped up after reading that chapter and is ready to see what is about to happen. Review away!


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

*3 Months Earlier*

John stood behind the young Sergeant studying the computer screen in the War Room,

"How soon till Skynet reaches them?"

"Their HK's will be there in about 20 minutes." John turned to Colonel Alexander.

"What ships do you have in the area Colonel?"

"I've got the USS Reliant hiding on the west side of Santa Catalina Island. But she's only a Sentinel Class Patrol Boat, there is no way it'll be able to go up against a Skynet Aerial HK squadron."

John had just recently learned that Skynet had been able to ascertain the location of the T-1001's oil platform off the coast of Huntington Beach. A Squadron of Skynet aerial HK's had been dispatched to its location and were closing in on the T-1001. John had attempted to warn the T-1001 but had not been able to establish any type of communication with it. John stood and thought for a moment.

"Is there any way the Reliant can get to the oil platform before Skynet does?" John asked staring up at the satellite images.

"No, even at top speed it would still take the Reliant almost an hour to get there. Skynet will reach them long before that." Colonel Alexander responded.

"What about our fighters from Point Mugu?"

"Our alert fighters would make it there at about the same time as the HK's did…But they wouldn't last long against an attack squadron of Skynet HK's. By the time our attack squadrons were able to reach them, our alert fighters would be finished and Skynet would have been able to do whatever it is their planning on doing." John put both fists on the imaging table in front of him and leaned on it as he looked at all the images being broadcast on all the different screens. He looked over at a Sergeant sitting at the communications terminal.

"Keep trying to contact them…but for now that's all we can do." John ran his hand along the back of his neck; Cameron could tell he was visibly stressed by this occurrence. The T-1001 had the possibility to become one of the resistances most powerful allies and now they were about to lose it. However, there was nothing that John could do at this point but watch it happen.

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The Skynet aerial HK's circled around the oil platform surveying it for a moment; their large silver frames reflecting the light from the sun. Two of the HK's broke off from the squadron and positioned themselves underneath the oil platform in order to prevent any type of escape attempt. Six other HK's began to hover around the oil platform itself, encircling it. The remaining four HK's split into groups of two and landed on opposite ends of the duel platforms. As soon as the HK's touched down their bay doors opened from underneath their fuselage and T-888's began to make their way out. Several of the T-888's were wearing what appeared to be flame throwers that had been modified to carry liquid nitrogen. This would be used to capture the T-1001 if possible. The T-888's were not met by any resistance on the deck of the oil platforms. They quickly found the entrances to the interior of the oil platform and began to make their way in.

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John stood silently in the War Room watching the satellite images of the T-888's making their entry into the oil platform. There was an eerie silence that fell over the room as the images displayed on the screens. Cameron could not help but feel somewhat conflicted about this course of events. While the T-1001 had forced her to explore very unsettling emotions within herself and to ask questions she never wanted to ask she also felt somewhat of a connection with the T-1001. This connection was due to the fact that both Terminators had chosen to go against their original programming and in turn fight against Skynet. Cameron felt somewhat saddened by the possible impending doom of the T-1001. John broke the silence of the room,

"This won't end well…" He remarked.

"No…it won't…" Colonel Alexander stated.

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The T-1001 shrieked as it was sprayed with liquid nitrogen. It slowly felt its temperature dropping and its mimetic poly-alloy solidifying. Looking around quickly it saw that most of its reprogrammed Terminators had been disabled or destroyed. Its liquid metal exterior glistened in the light as it attempted to escape in its eel like form. But it was to late. The liquid nitrogen was already forming crystalline structures within its body. The T-1001 was quickly loosing its ability to move. Eventually it felt itself become completely rigid and immovable. Skynet's T-888's closed in around the T-1001, their red eyes glowing as they approached. The T-1001 felt that this was the end.

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Authors Notes: Okay so I know that was a short chapter but I needed it to set up the following chapter which will be significantly longer. Review away.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

It had been a week since the T-1001 had been capture. John had attempted to track Skynet's aerial HK's after the raid using hacked satellites but the transmission to the satellite had been cut by Skynet soon after the HK's reached the Philippine Sea. However, after John had given up all hope of ever establishing contact with the T-1001 again Tech Com had received a very strange transmission from an oil platform off of Indonesia's coast.

"Are you sure it's real?" John said looking down at the Sergeant sitting at the communications station.

"As far as I can tell it is Sir. I'm not sure how one of its Terminators managed to get a message to us but it did."

"Did it say how it managed to smuggle the T-1001 out of the Skynet base?"

"No Sir."

"The T-1001 may have been able to hide a program in one of its scrubbed Terminator units. After they reached the Skynet base the program may have been activated." Cameron stated as she looked over at John. "It is possible to hide a program within a program in a Terminators chip. In theory Skynet may not have discovered it upon their initial scan of the Terminator's chip." John thought for a moment.

"Colonel do we have any ships in the area?" Alexander began to type away at a computer pulling up a listing of their deployments.

"Yes Sir the Jimmy Carter is in the area near Perth Australia." John looked over at the communications Sergeant.

"Get me Qweeg immediately."

"Yes Sir."

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John wondered the halls of the interior of Serrano Point. He felt uneasy and on edge about the entire situation. The T-1001, the rescue attempt, and the Terminators that the T-1001 had reprogrammed. He continued to walk through the hallways until he found himself at the doorway to his quarters. He was unsure as to why he had walked to his room. In fact John knew he should have been heading back to the War Room. John stood their silently at his door for a moment thinking.

"It's not just this situation…" John thought to himself as he began to open the door to his quarters, "It's something else entirely."

"Cameron?!" John actually spoke out loud.

"Yes?" She responded as she stood in the center of his room.

"What are you doing here?" John was somewhat confused, but not angry as to why Cameron had come to his room. Strangely, John felt somewhat relieved that she was there.

"You seemed to be exhibiting more stress than normal in the War Room. I wanted to make sure you were alright." Cameron stated as she walked slowly towards John. While the statement itself was true Cameron also felt that there was more to it than that. Cameron had begun to notice that John's anxiety appeared to be affecting her as well. For that matter all of John's emotions appeared to be affecting her to some degree. Cameron felt compelled to try to comfort him. This was more so the reason that she had come into his room without asking permission. While attempting to reassure John would have been the logical thing to do, Cameron's feelings appeared stronger than just a need to reassure him. She felt genuinely concerned for him. Cameron was still unsure as to why she felt this way.

"Do you believe that your actions will help win the trust of the T-1001?" She asked. John sighed and looked at her,

"I'm not sure. And I hate to risk this much on a guess." John ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he spoke. Instinctively Cameron reached out and touched him on the arm in an attempt to comfort him and quietly spoke,

"This will work…It's a good plan." Cameron instantly realized what she had just done. This was the first time she had ever touched John in this fashion. Cameron stood there for a moment somewhat frozen and unsure of her actions. In an instant a strange sense of fear and anxiety swept over her, but at the same time she felt compelled to not pull away from John. Cameron stood their just looking at him. John noticed this as well. He did not move either; an array of conflicting emotions came over him. John noticed that Cameron's touch had a unique calming effect on him, but at the same time John felt somewhat uneasy and nervous. However, more so than any of his other emotions John felt himself strangely drawn to Cameron. Both John and Cameron stood there for a moment not moving and just staring at each other. Cameron's hand remained on John's arm. The entire room was dead silent, neither one wanted to move. Finally Cameron spoke breaking the silence that surrounded them,

"John…" He was completely unable to speak. "It's time to go…" She said. Broken from their trance both John and Cameron stepped slightly away from each other.

"Yes we should." John replied. Both John and Cameron walked out of his room and headed back towards the War Room.

*2 Weeks Later*

Cameron walked down the corridor of Serrano Point towards John's quarters. The crew of the Jimmy Carter had just returned. Their report was disturbing to say the least. Qweeg had been destroyed, two crew members had been killed and the T-1001 had refused John's offer to join them. Cameron also felt that Commander Flores had not been completely honest with her and that her actions had been far from professional. Still she felt the need to talk to John before anything was decided. Cameron noticed that she felt uneasy about discussing this with John. Not that John would be angry with her for the events that had unfolded on the Jimmy Carter but Cameron had found she disliked bringing John bad news. She was still slightly unsure of why this was occurring. Since the night that she had touched John, Cameron found herself more and more drawn to him. She could not explain why she felt this way but only knew that when she was apart from him she felt the overwhelming desire to be with John again. By this time Cameron had reached John's quarters, she quietly unlocked the door from the outside and stepped in. For reasons unbeknownst to her John had recently given her a key to his quarters. As far as Cameron knew John had never done this with anyone before due to the possible security risks. She knew that John had recently begun to trust her more so than others but this action still surprised her. Upon entering John's quarters she observed him asleep on his bed.

"I should wake him." Cameron thought to herself. But for some reason she did not move. She just stood their silently watching John sleep. She tilted her head slightly to the side studying his face. Cameron was very uncertain as to why she was doing this. Lately her actions around John had become slightly unpredictable.

"Cameron?!" John spoke as he was startled awake.

"I'm sorry I did not mean to startle you." she said.

"You know my mother used to do that."

"Used to do what?"

"Watch me sleep…I always hated it." Cameron felt slightly hurt by this comment. However, she was highly confused as to why this remark had produced an emotional response.

"It feels different with you though." John continued.

"What do you mean?" John was slightly unsure of how to answerer this question. He noticed that even though Cameron had startled him by being there he felt safer knowing that she was.

"I guess I know if you're around" John paused "I'm safe." Cameron felt a very strong feeling of reassurance come upon her when John said this. Both were silently for a moment, then with some reluctance Cameron spoke.

"I have some bad news about the Jimmy Carter." John sat up instantly when she said this.

"What happened?"

"The Jimmy Carters DSRV just returned. According to Commander Flores they opened the cryogenic box that the T-1001 was in and it killed a Petty Officer Goodnow." John buried his face in one of his hands,

"You're kidding me."

"No." Cameron continued, "It was after this that Commander Flores stated that a riot broke out on the ship and Qweeg was forced to kill crewman Deets in order to quell a possible mutiny. Commander Flores stated that after Qweeg would not discuss the particulars of the mission with her, she felt that Qweeg was malfunctioning and ordered him to submit to chip extraction. When he refused Commander Flores destroyed him using a plasma rifle and scuttled the Jimmy Carter to prevent the escape of the T-1001." John was sitting up on the edge of his bed at this point staring at Cameron. He put his head in his hands,

"He didn't submit to chip extraction because I told him to override all protocols for the success of this mission."

"I know John." John looked back up at Cameron and somewhat angrily replied,

"What the hell was Flores thinking??!!"

"Commander Flores felt that the T-1001 was a threat due to her actions in the death Petty Officer Goodnow."

"Did Goodnow do anything to provoke the T-1001?"

"Commander Flores did state that Goodnow raised her rifle out of fear upon seeing the T-1001." John clenched his jaw in frustration.

"That's why I didn't want any of them to know about that thing. I knew one of them wouldn't be able to handle it." Cameron hesitated for a moment continued,

"There is something else as well." John's growing disheartenment became ever apparent to Cameron. "The T-1001 informed Commander Flores to tell you that the answer is no." John closed his eyes and sighed.

"Son of a bitch… Where is Flores now?"

"She is in the crew quarters. But there is something else you should know."

"What's that?" John asked somewhat annoyed. He felt slightly guilty about directing his current frustration towards Cameron but also hoped that she would understand.

"Commander Flores was pregnant at the time of this mission. However, due to the events surrounding the mission she is no longer pregnant." John paused for a moment before speaking.

"That still doesn't excuse her actions." Cameron nodded her head in agreement. John ran his hands through his hair as he thought. "Possibly one of the most valuable strategic resources available to us and we just got screwed because of a couple of paranoid crewmen. What are the chances the T-1001 survived the scuttling of the sub?"

"It is very likely the T-1001 may have survived. The depth of the Jimmy Carter would not have been sufficient to destroy a T-1001." John shook his head.

"Not that it matters now." He thought for a moment. "Have Flores confined to her quarters till we can get some officers together for a court marshal." Cameron nodded again. Then Cameron spoke again,

"John will you be alright?" Her level of concern about John still somewhat of a mystery to her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He looked at Cameron and felt some of his stress begin to fade away, "Thanks for asking." There was another moment of silence between the two.

"I should go and inform the MP's of Commander Flores situation." Cameron stated somewhat reluctantly. John nodded his head and Cameron slowly turned and walked out of his room.

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Authors Notes: Okay so personally I never believed that the T-1001 would have willing frozen itself in a box to be given to John Connor (or his troops on board the Jimmy Carter). Hopefully this explains some of that mystery. Also, I hope EVERYONE caught the TSCC reference (dialog) in the beginning of the chapter as well. Review away!


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

John stood in the war room staring at one of the satellite images on the computer screen hanging from the ceiling.

"How long till the HK's are in weapons range?"

"Two minutes sir." John nodded his head. He had just learned that the ground HK's that had attacked Point Mugu were nearing his armored division to the southeast of Serrano Point.

"Tell Captain Parker to engage the HK's as soon as they are in range."

"Yes sir." One of the Sergeants responded. John turned to Cameron,

"And so it begins."

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The shoreline was quite. Nothing but the lapping of waves and the steady drone of several M1 Abram tank engines could be heard. All of the soldiers waited quietly at their positions staring out into the ocean. Some of them watched the sun rise as they did this and felt its rays beginning to warm the area around them. Several scrubbed T-888's patrolled between the foxholes and pill boxes that were scattered around the beach. John had the men paint blue stripes on these T-888's so they could be distinguished between Skynet's T-888's. The silence of the beach was temporarily broken by the calls of a seagull flying along the coast. At any other time this would have been a peaceful morning but not today. Every soldier knew what was lurking just beneath the waves of the ocean and it was only seconds away from showing itself. Suddenly, out beyond the breaking waves of the shoreline a large wake began to appear. It grew larger and larger as it came closer to the shoreline. Then a second wake began to form next to it, then a third. Finally the Kracken broke through the waterline exposing itself. The massive aircraft like wings were the first to expose themselves, then the rest of the framework came into view. Almost immediately aerial HK's began to break away from the Kracken's main body and head towards the shoreline. The second and third Kracken broke through the waterline shortly their after. Their aerial HK's also broke away almost immediately and headed towards the shoreline.

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"Contact with three Kracken Undersea Ships General Connor." A Sergeant briefly turned away from the communications terminal and looked at John.

"Their aerial HK's have already been launched." John turned to Colonel Alexander,

"Launch our Apaches and have the few remaining F-18's from Point Mugu engage the Krackens." Almost immediately after John finished his sentence the sounds of anti-aircraft guns began to be heard. John glanced over at Cameron quickly with a somewhat concerned look, however the look in her eyes was yet again comforting to John.

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Two aerial HK's streaked across the shoreline spraying the area with plasma cannon rounds. The entire area had erupted into one massive chaotic battle. The Krackens had run around on the shore and almost immediately began to deploy their T-888's and ground HK's. A stinger missile streaked through the air striking one of the aerial HK's in the right engine. It came crashing to the ground with a large explosion. Several Apache Gun Ships flew parallel to the shoreline running strafing runs on Skynet's T-888's that were marching across the beach. The few remaining F-18's that were left shot through the air towards the three massive Kracken Undersea Ships. The Kracken itself began to launch its surface to air missiles almost immediately. Two of the F-18's were shot down immediately but two others managed to get through the aerial defenses and began to attack the Krackens. To any normal person that would have been able to look upon the beach it would have appeared to be in a state of complete chaos at this point. Several of Skynet's ground HK's were being engaged by Tech Com's M1 Abram Tanksdivisions and a few Apache Gunship's. Tech Com's soldiers and scrubbed Terminator units were fighting valiantly against Skynet's T-888 landing parties. The area quickly became covered in a haze of smoke from the explosions and fire. The beach itself became absorbed into the deafening sounds of battle.

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John stared at the holographic imaging table trying to determine his next move.

"Have our Apaches back up the tank group along the southern front. They seem to be losing some ground there."

"Yes sir" One of the sergeants quickly turned away from John and began to give orders into the phone he was talking on.

"How are our ground forces doing against the HK's to the southeast?" John asked. Captain Spears spoke up almost immediately,

"They're holding their own for the time being. The ground HK's haven't advanced any further."

"Good, make sure to keep me updated with their situation. We can't have Skynet outflanking us." Spears nodded his head and responded,

"Yes sir." John crossed his arms and continued to stair at the holographic images that were playing out before him. He slowly leaned over to Cameron and whispered,

"With these kinds of numbers attacking us, I'm not sure how long we can last."

"You've already survived massively insurmountable odds as is. This will just be another one of those times." Cameron replied in a calm voice, trying to reassure him.

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The beach had already become littered with the bodies of humans and T-888 endoskeletons as the battle raged onward. Most of the F-18's that had been attacking the Krackens had been shot down. Just one remained. The pilot pressed his attack against the massive ship and released flairs as the Kracken launched its surface to air missiles. The F-18 attacks had managed to inflict some damage onto the Kracken but not enough to significantly hinder their attacking capability. Skynet aerial HK's continued to spray the shoreline with plasma cannon rounds. Soldiers fell dead almost immediately when they were struck by the high heat rounds. Anti-aircraft rounds streaked over the battlefield from Serrano Point and held the air above the coast in almost a constant state of exploding ammunition. The soldiers commanding the anti-aircraft cannons were trying desperately not to hit their own aerial fleet and still manage to shoot down Skynet aerial HK's. Tech Com's tank group fought vigorously against the Skynet ground HK's. Several of the Tech Com's soldiers had been issued Javelin anti tank missile launchers and were attempting to back up their Tank groups fighting against Skynet's ground HK's. An Apache gunship streaked over the heads of one particular group and launched a Hellfire missile at one of the ground HK's. It exploded on impact almost cutting the ground HK in half. Despite Tech Com's valiant efforts, Skynet's overwhelming forces had already begun to push Tech Com forces back slowly.

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"Skynet will be launching Triple 8 troop transports from the Kracken shortly, prepare the inner perimeter for that." John said as he looked at Colonel Alexander who was still speaking into the phone in front of him. John stared at the holographic image in front of him. He could already tell that the battle was beginning to turn in Skynets favor. The steady drone of anti aircraft fire could be heard within the War Room. Then suddenly John heard an explosion.

"We just took a hit from one of the Kracken missiles." Alexander replied. John saw from the display in front of him that even though Serrano Point's Patriot Missiles were able to destroy most of the incoming missiles that were launched at the base some would still inevitably get through. He searched his mind for idea's on how to thwart Skynets attack.

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An F-18 pilot pulled hard back on his stick as the fighter shot skyward. He pitched hard to the right attempting to avoid the plasma cannon rounds that began to surround his fighter from the aerial HK that was behind him. He rolled hard over and began a dive back for the ground attempting to elude his attacker. The HK was able to match his maneuvers however. The air around his fighter was blanketed in smoke from anti-aircraft fire and numerous missiles were streaking through the air. As he flew along the shore line he saw that Tech Com's forces were being beaten back by the constant barrage of Skynet forces. His fighter shook as an anti-aircraft round exploded near it. An alarm went off in his cockpit signaling an incoming missile. He broke hard to the right releasing flairs with the flip of a switch on his control stick. The Skynet HK was getting closer by the second. The pilot flew in a large circle around Serrano Point still attempting to evade the HK. As he came back around towards the shoreline and the Krackens he saw that they were launching their T-888 troop transports. The troop transports were larger flat aircraft with 4 large engines to support their weight. While slower than the average aerial HK they contained at least 50 T-888's. The F-18 pilot dove towards the ground only to then pull back on his control stick to avoid striking the ground. He flew at treetop level and saw the ground around him explode from plasma fire from the HK behind him. He knew he had little chance of survival at this point. He accelerated towards one of the troop transports attempting to lock onto it with his last missile. Upon hearing the computer generated lock on tone in his headset he pulled the trigger and released his only remaining missile. The Sidewinder missile streaked across the sky. It arched quickly sideways and then came back towards the troop transport striking it in one of its rear engines. The transport began to spin in an uncontrollable fashion towards the ground. Just then the pilot felt his fighter rock to the right side as his right wing took a hit from a plasma round. Alarms in the cockpit began to go off as the pilot attempted to maintain control of the fighter. Listing to his right and losing airspeed the pilot continued his approach towards one of the Krackens. The pilot felt the fighter begin to shake as he began to lose control of it. He was almost to the Kracken when his fighter took another hit from the plasma cannon from the HK behind him. This round almost tore off his left wing. The fighter began to spin in uncontrollable barrel rolls. But the pilot had been able to position the F-18 so that it was already aimed towards one of the Krackens. The aerial HK remained behind the F-18 firing at it, attempting to stop it but it was to late. The F-18 flew into one of the hanger bays of the Kracken. A large fireball ripped through the interior of the ship damaging it and destroying many T-888's that were still inside. The aerial HK broke away after the impact and headed back towards Serrano Point.

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The Skynet T-888 troop transports streaked over the shoreline headed for Serrano Point. Anti-aircraft fire was a constant around them. Several of them took direct hits and fell from the sky crashing into the ground forming massive explosions. The Apache Gunship's had turned their attention from the ground HK's and had begun to attack the troop transports. One troop transport in particular crested the hillside that Serrano Point was located on and was almost to Serrano Point's wall's when it took a direct hit to its rear left engine from a Stinger Missile. It lurched to the left and began to lose altitude but continued its trajectory towards Serrano Point. As it crested the wall it took another hit from an anti-aircraft round to its tail which was entirely torn off from the explosion. Being at such a low altitude already it came crashing to the ground into a crumpled heap. However, the T-888's inside easily survived the impact. One of them tore the door to the troop transports off and began its exit of the air craft. As soon as it came into view of one of the soldiers on the ground he fired his plasma rifle striking the T-888 in the head. It fell back into the transport but more were behind it.

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"Sir Skynet has breached the walls. They're inside our inner perimeter." One of the Sergeants replied looking at John as he spoke. John clenched his jaw,

"If we begin to loose the inner perimeter have our men pullback inside the power plant. We'll fight them in the corridors if we have to." He turned to the rest of the men standing in the room and Cameron.

"Arm yourselves." Cameron walked over to a storage cabinet located on the wall and unlocked it. She retrieved two plasma rifles. One for her and one for John; She walked back over to John and handed him a rifle. He glanced down at it and then he pulled back the charging handle on the rifle chambering a round.

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Authors Notes: Okay so the shit has hit the fan so to speak and things are getting worse by the second. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, the next ones will be REALLY interesting and will be soon to come. Review away.


	22. Chapter 22

Authors Notes: Before reading this chapter readers should take note that the outcome of Jesse Flores's court marshal was never disclosed and the flashback where Riley met Jesse in the future (season 2 episode 13) for the first time was from Rileys POV and we are never given a date for that time frame either. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 22

Jesse Flores walked willingly down the brightly lit corridor. Her bare feet not making much sound on the cold stainless steel floor beneath her feet. The air itself was very cool and she shivered slightly seeing as how she only wore a tattered beige shirt that hung down to just above her knee's. Her hair was disheveled and bruises covered her body. She could hear the droning white noise of computer fans as she walked. There was also the incessant clanking from the T-888's feet that walked behind her. She walked to the end of the corridor to a large door. She stopped for a moment and then heard a click and the door opened for her. Jesse walked into a large brightly lit room. Jesse looked around and saw that the room itself seemed to form a perfect cube. Several computer mainframes were positioned throughout the room and there were numerous large screens on the walls. Some of the screens displayed some sort of coding while others showed a battle raging between Skynet and the resistance. "Serrano…" Jesse whispered quietly. She took a few steps forward crossing her arms trying to keep herself somewhat warm in the cold air conditioned room. She noticed the T-888 had stopped following her at this point and was standing silently at the doorway. Jesse continued to walk around the room slowly trying to take in everything that she saw. The battle at Serrano Point was obviously going badly for the resistance. She walked closer to one particular screen that appeared to give the best view of the battle. She watched as numerous resistance soldiers were fighting and dieing on the battleground at Serrano Point. Jesse covered her mouth in horror trying to fight off her tears as she continued to watch men die. Suddenly Jesse heard a deep voice that appeared to come from all around the room speak out,

"COMMANDER JESSE FLORES?" Somewhat surprised Jesse looked around the room trying to ascertain where the voice was coming from. After not seeing anyone Jesse assumed there may be speakers mounted throughout the room. After this brief moment of thought Jesse spoke,

"Yes…"

"YOUR PLAN IS NOW OBSOLETE. THE HUMAN RESISTANCE BASE AT SERRANO POINT IS NEAR COLLAPSE. YOU AND YOUR COMPANION WILL BE SENT TO THE BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTATION LABORATORY TO BE PROCESSED." Jesse turned and look up at the ceiling in a state of shock.

"What? Wait, no! He still has her! You haven't gotten rid of her yet! She's still a threat to you."

"GIVEN THE CURRENT STATE OF THE RESISTANCE BASE YOUR PLAN IS NO LONGER NECESSARY. WE WILL BE ABLE TO OBTAIN WHAT WE NEED FROM THE ROGUE UNIT'S DISABLED BODY JUST AS WE DID BEFORE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME." Jesse stared up at the ceiling still horrified. Suddenly she felt a jerk on her right arm and looked over to see the T-888 standing next to her. It's robotic hand now grasping onto her upper arm. It was tugging just enough to slightly move Jesse's body.

"No, you still need my help what if she gets away?!" Jesse was in tears at this point begging for her life.

"IT IS UNLIKELY THE ROUGE UNIT WILL ESCAPE." The T-888 yanked Jesse off her feet and began to drag her towards the door. Jesse reached out with her left hand and pawed at the ground trying to stop herself.

"NO!" She cried, "I tried to help you!!" She screamed. At this point Jesse was trying to think of something, anything that might save her life as she clawed at the ground trying to stop the T-888 from dragging her out of the room. Then suddenly a thought raced through her mind.

"He'll send her back." She whispered at first. "Wait!!! He'll send her back!!" Jesse shouted this time. The T-888 stopped dead in it's tracks but still maintained its hold on Jesse's arm.

"EXPLAIN…" The voice said.

"Connor will do anything to protect that thing. If you back him into a corner he'll use Serrano's TDE to allow it to escape. He might even send it back to himself in the past." Jesse spoke quickly knowing that she was speaking to save her life, "If it caused trouble for you now, imagine what 20 years with that thing will do for Connor." There was a second of delay.

"HOW ARE YOU AWARE OF SERRANO POINTS TIME DISPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT?"

"Because I was there when we captured it." Jesse spoke a little quieter and with some anger in her voice. There was another momentary delay then the voice spoke again,

"YOU SHOULD BE AWARE IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE YOUR MISSION IN THE PAST WE HAVE MANY OPERATIVES THERE." Jesse looked slightly confused for a split second,

"IF YOU CHOOSE TO DISOBEY YOUR MISSION PARAMETERS YOU AND YOUR COMPANION WILL BE LOCATED AND TERMINATED." The T-888 released Jesse's arm and her upper body dropped to the ground. She glared over at the T-888 as she stood rubbing her arm in order to try and alleviate the pain.

"Don't worry. I'll find her and I'll stop her." Jesse said with hatred in her voice. There was silence in the room for another moment.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME COMMANDER FLORES." Jesse glanced around the room with a look of disgust.

"Come with me." The T-888 standing next to Jesse said. Jesse looked over at it still glaring with hatred. She slowly began to walk out of the room with the T-888 following her.

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That battle raged on within the inner walls of Serrano Point. Most of the T-888's had survived the crash of their troop transport and had begun to swarm throughout the inner perimeter. Plasma rifle fire was constant and thick. Several of the T-888's had made it over to the gates of Serrano Point and had managed to open them allowing more Terminators to enter. The slaughter of Tech Com soldiers came quickly after this point. There were now two battles going on. One along the beach where the Krackens had made their landing and now one inside the perimeter walls of Serrano Point. Most of the remaining Tech Com Soldiers who were left alive had pulled back to the actual entrance of the Serrano Point power plant and had set up several humvees in a circular pattern around the entrance for cover and were attempting to fight off the onslaught of T-888's coming their way. The ground was scattered with bodies of humans and T-888's. A layer of smoke hung over the area and the smell of burnt flesh remained as well. An Apache Gunship made a quick pass over the inner perimeter spraying the Terminators with 30mm rounds. Several of the T-888's fell to the ground destroyed but many more remained. An RPG streaked across the scene striking one of the T-888's. It was blown in half immediately; however, when its upper torso landed on the ground it then began to craw its way towards the resistance fighters. As the T-888's got closer to the entrance more and more Tech Com soldiers began to fall.

"Pull back inside the base!" A Lieutenant yelled as a T-888 climbed over the top of one of the humvees. It grabbed a young soldier and hurled him through the air into a larger group of T-888's. He was killed immediately. As the Lieutenant waited for his men to run through the open bulk head door of the entrance he fired his plasma rifle constantly at what seemed to be a never ending barrage of T-888's. He glanced at the main gate just before he entered Serrano Point and saw a ground HK entering the inner perimeter. He slammed the door shut with a loud crash and locked it quickly. He could hear the T-888's on the outside as they began to tear apart the door. He and several other men took up positions around the door waiting for the Terminators to make their way in.

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"Our men have fallen back inside Serrano Point…The inner perimeter has fallen." Colonel Alexander looked solemnly at John as he said this. John looked at a schematic of Serrano Point on a computer screen in front of him.

"Set up barricades at every door way. It'll force the Trip 8's to bottleneck and we can take out more of them that way." Colonel Alexander unclipped his radio from his belt and began to bark orders into it. Cameron turned to John as he was surveying all that was in front of him. She spoke quietly but in very concerned tone,

"John, I can not evaluate an effective escape route for you." John turned to her and looked into her eyes and in a sympathetic and kind tone stated,

"I know." He then turned back to Captain Spears, "Spears see if we can get some of our forces from the beach back to in inner perimeter. That might buy us some time." Spears nodded picked up a phone in front of him in an attempt to make contact with any of the beachfront forces. It was at this point that Cameron notice the sounds outside of Serrano Point had changed. The anti-aircraft rounds had ceased, there was only plasma rifle fire now; and it was getting closer.

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A large ground HK moved slowly into the inner perimeter of Serrano Point firing its plasma cannons constantly at any remaining Tech Com forces that were left outside. The few remaining soldiers that were left outside of the base were killed almost instantly by the ground HK. More and more T-888 troop transports were also making it to the base and were able to deploy their Terminators units. The remaining Apache Gunship's and Aerial HK's had become entangled in a constant air battle as well.

Two young Tech Com soldiers made their way up the hillside that Serrano point was located on. One of them carried a Javelin anti tank missile launcher. They had managed to slip by the T-888's and were now within firing range of the ground HK. As they crested the hill they both looked on at Serrano Point with horror as it had become completely overrun by T-888's. Their silver endoskeletons reflecting in the morning sunlight. At the center of the T-888's was the large ground HK. One of the soldiers pulled the missile launcher onto his shoulder and pointed it at the HK. After flicking a few switches he heard a tone that indicated the missile was ready to fire. He pressed the trigger and they both heard a loud pop as the missile exited the launcher, a split second later the main engine engaged and the missile streaked skyward. The missile climbed high and then arched downward quickly towards the HK. The missile struck the top of the HK blowing the top section off. The two soldiers were met with almost constant and instantaneous plasma rifle fire after the firing of the missile. They both ducked behind the hillcrest for some cover. Plasma rounds were exploding all around them from both in front and behind. They fought back valiantly in a vain attempt to remain alive.

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The battle inside of Serrano point had begun. The T-888's had blown through the locked door and were now beginning to make their way inside of Serrano Point. The Lieutenant that had originally locked the door knelt at the next doorway about 30 feet away firing his plasma rifle at the incoming T-888's. He could hear the screams of civilians as they fled from the scene and of other soldiers as they were hit. A Sergeant stood next to him quickly firing his rifle as well. The flashes from the plasma rifles had become constant. Every time a T-888 fell another replaced it.

"Fall back!" The Lieutenant yelled. Both men ran back quickly to the next doorway in the tight corridors. Two more soldiers stood at that doorway firing at the T-888's as the Lieutenant and Sergeant ran through the doorway.

"Either one of you got any grenades left!?" The Lieutenant shouted. One of the soldiers spoke up,

"I have one left!"

"When they get close enough use it!" Both men were shouting at each other over the sounds of the plasma rifle fire. The enclosed corridors were quickly begging to fill with smoke from the constant small explosions that the plasma rounds were causing. Suddenly the soldier standing next to the Lieutenant was stuck in the chest by a plasma round and fell to the ground dead,

"Damn it!" The Lieutenant said under his breath as he continued to fire. He watched as the other soldier pulled the grenade pin and lean slightly out of the doorway and threw it towards the T-888's. A split second later he was struck in the head by a plasma round. Blood spattered across the Lieutenants face from the explosive force of the round. The Lieutenant was stunned for a moment but was shaken out of his shock by the loud explosion from the grenade. He grabbed the Sergeant next to him by arm.

"We need to go now!" Both men ran down the dimly lit corridors till they reached a "Y" intersection. Several soldiers and some civilians had set up several metal crates and barricades as cover and were hiding behind them waiting for more of the T-888's. The Lieutenant and Sergeant took up cover with them.

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"They're inside of Serrano General." Captain Spears said as he looked at John. Spears moved over next to John and pointed to a "Y" intersection on the schematic.

"The few soldiers I could raise on the radio said that they are hold up here with some civilians attempting to hold back the Trip 8's." Cameron quickly looked over the schematic. She realized that if the T-888's made it past that corridor's intersection they would have virtually free access to anywhere in Serrano Point. She felt a swell of anxiety over the fact that she knew she would not be able to protect John from these kinds of forces and that there was no way for him to escape. She quickly glanced over at John trying to think of anything that she could do to save him. There was nothing she could think of.

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The plasma fire was constant and brutal. Several dead bodies lay around the Lieutenant as he fired back at the onslaught of T-888's. Only about 10 people were left alive at this point. Four Tech Com soldiers including himself and six civilians. While not nearly as well trained as the Tech Com soldiers the Lieutenant was thankful to have all the help he could get. He peered over one of the large crates that he was behind in an attempt to see what was coming. The corridor was thick with smoke but he could see the red glowing eyes of T-888's getting ever closer. Then there were several flashes of plasma rounds being fired. The Lieutenant ducked behind the metal crate for cover. He looked over at one of the civilians next to him. A young female with dirty blond hair. Her face was smeared with soot and her clothing was dirty. She had a terrified look in her green eyes and clutched the plasma rifle close to her body. The Lieutenant found it strange that in the middle of this battle he had the wherewithal to realize that this young woman was beautiful. He tried to give her a consolatory smile but he saw that it did nothing to help. A loud thud was heard as a plasma round slammed into the body of one of the Tech Com soldiers. He fell dead next to the young girl. The terror in her eyes was apparent but she stood and fired a few rounds at one of the T-888's. To the Lieutenants surprise she struck the T-888's and it collapsed to the ground. She then ducked behind some cover. The Lieutenant raised his eyebrows,

"Nice shot."

"Thank you." She said in a very fearful voice. The T-888's were almost on top of their position at this point. The Lieutenant sprang up quickly and fired off a few more rounds. As he began to duck behind his cover again he saw that 3 more of the civilians had been killed. There were now 6 people left. Three Tech Com soldiers including himself and 3 civilians including the young girl. Suddenly a T-888 reached over one of the metal crates and grabbed a man seated a few feet away from young girl. He was pulled from the remaining group and killed instantly by one of the Terminators. The Lieutenant stood quickly and fired his plasma rifle at the T-888 striking it in the head destroying it immediately. He then felt something strike his shoulder and a searing pain ran through it, he had been hit. He fell to the ground from the force of the impact. The young girl ran over to him,

"Are you okay?" she asked as she tried to pull him up off his back.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said as he tried to hide his pain. As the Lieutenant sat up he noticed several of the T-888's had now made it to the barricades. One of them shot a Tech Com solider and another grabbed two of the Civilians and pulled them out from behind cover. Using its hands, the T-888 killed both of the civilians quickly and gruesomely. There was just one Tech Com soldier left along with the Lieutenant and the young girl.

"Fall back!" the Lieutenant yelled to the remaining soldier as he attempted to get to his feet and provide cover for the girl and his fellow soldier. The Lieutenant began to fire his plasma rifle into the large group of T-888's. At this same time the last remaining soldier stood from behind cover and turned to run. He was shot in the back immediately by one of the Terminators.

"Go! Go!" The Lieutenant turned to the girl grabbing her by the arm and pulling her down one of the corridors. Plasma fire streaked around them as they ran. The girl glanced quickly over her shoulder, all she could see was the glowing red eyes of T-888's following them. The two were just about to reach a doorway that lead into one of the large storage rooms for the base when the Lieutenant was struck in the lower back by a plasma round. He fell to the ground instantly and screamed in pain. The young girl turned and knelt down next to him,

"Run!" he yelled. However, she didn't run. She helped the Lieutenant to his feet and put his arm around her to keep him on his feet. The two of them walked quickly towards the open door of the storage room in an attempt to try to evade the T-888's that were now close behind them. As they walked the Lieutenant felt the strength draining out of his body as the pain grew worse and worse from his wound. Making it through the doorway the Lieutenant fell again to the ground. The girl knelt down again next to him in an attempt to help him up. He looked up at her and stared into her eyes,

"You have to leave me."

"No, I can't." She replied. He continued to look at her as he spoke, the sound of the metal clanking from metal endoskeletons growing louder as he did.

"I wont be able to go much farther, you have to get out of here." His breathing was becoming labored. The young girl began to cry as she looked at him, she slowly stood wiping the tears away from her eyes as she did. The Lieutenant's voice became soft as he spoke again,

"Wait…what's your name?" he asked.

"Dianna…" She replied in a soft and terrified voice. She looked back at him waiting for a response.

"Tom…" Tears streamed down Dianna's face as they stood there for a moment longer,

"Now, go!" Tom yelled. Dianna turned and ran. Tom crawled his way over to the doorway and leaned up against it as he raised his plasma rifle and took aim. The corridor was dark and covered in smoke and the metallic clanking was close. He took a breath,

"Come get me you metal mother fuckers!!!" he screamed as he began to pull the trigger on his rifle. He felt the recoil in his shoulder as the rifle began to fire. Plasma rounds streaked back at him as he fired. Tom saw flashes of sparks as his plasma rounds struck the first few T-888's that were close to him. Then he felt a searing pain in his chest. He looked down expecting to see the inevitable. A large burn on his chest where a plasma round had struck him. Tom's strength began to leave him. He collapsed onto his side in the doorway. He tilted his head to the side looking over the large storage room attempting to make sure that Dianna had gotten away. He did not see her anywhere and breathed a sigh of relief. It was at this point that he saw a T-888 step over him as it entered the doorway. The T-888 looked down at Tom with its glowing red eyes and studied him for a moment. Ascertaining that he was no threat it continued on into the storage room. Tom mustered the last bit of strength he had to raise his plasma rifle one more time and aimed it at the Terminator. He pulled the trigger and felt the rifle recoil as the plasma round tore into the T-888's back. At this close range it did serious damage to the T-888. It stumbled forward attempting to steady itself. A second T-888 quickly emerged from the door standing over Tom. It pointed its rifle at Tom's face. A blinding flash of a plasma round was the last thing Tom saw.

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Authors Notes: Okay so things conintue to get worse for the resistance. I really hope you guys liked this chapter. Review away!


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Things had become desperate inside the War Room. Communication between John and his soldiers had begun to break down and Skynet had managed to make entry inside of Serrano Point. Cameron quickly scanned the room's two entrances attempting to guard John as best she could. The anxiety she felt knowing that T-888's could be just outside was almost overwhelming for her.

"Colonel, can we get any positive ID's on where exactly Skynet is within our base?" John asked as he and Captain Spears studied the schematics for Serrano Point. Alexander looked over at the communication Sergeant sitting across from him.

"I'm getting a lot of cross talk but I'm not able to ascertain any specific location from what I'm getting." The Sergeant said with a slightly concerned look on his face, then he continued,

"Last I heard we had troops down near a junction just 30 yards from here. If I check in with them I might be able to relay a better location back to you sir." Colonel Alexander thought for a moment,

"Do it." The Sergeant jumped up and ran from his seat over to one of the entrances to the war room. He unbolted the door and began to open it. Suddenly he was struck in the chest by a plasma round and fell back onto the floor dead.

"Shit!" Alexander responded as he raised his rifle and pointed it towards the door. Plasma fire began to pour into the war room. Cameron quickly grabbed John and dragged him to the end of the imaging table opposite the open door and pushed him down behind it for cover. Colonel Alexander, Captain Spears, the remaining RADAR Sergeant and Cameron began to fire their plasma rifles at the open door. Sparks from explosions flew throughout the War Room as plasma rounds struck the walls, computers, and other various objects throughout the room. Cameron kept John pinned to the ground behind the heavy steal imaging table as she continued to fire her plasma rifle.

"Cameron!" he yelled.

"Stay down John, I can't let anything happen to you." She responded as she continued to fire. The room itself became enveloped in plasma rifle fire and the firefight created bright flashes causing an almost strobing effect inside the room. Sparks few and smoke began to form in the air around Cameorn. Finally the firing stopped. Thick smoke covered the corridor up to the War Room door and the smoke continued to creep into the room itself. Alexander quickly took this time to reload his plasma rifle, dropping the nearly empty magazine onto the floor beneath him and slapping a fresh magazine into the rifle. No sooner did he do this than a T-888 quickly emerged into the War Room out of the smoke filled corridor. It began to spray the interior of the room with its plasma chain cannon. The RADAR Sergeant was the first to be hit multiple times and fell to the ground dead. Cameron began to raise her rifle again as she had just averted her eyes for the moment to check and make sure John was okay. In that same instance Colonel Alexander was hit by a plasma round. Both Cameron and Captain Spears opened fire on the T-888 striking it multiple times. It collapsed to the ground incapacitated. Cameron scanned the room and down the corridor again cycling between her different modes of eyesight ensuring that there were no remaining threats. Captain Spear looked over at her,

"Is it clear?"

"I believe so yes." Cameron said as she slowly stood allowing John to stand as well, he looked at her slightly annoyed that she had kept him out of the fight but at the same time glad that she had acted so quickly to save his life.

"Colonel?!" Spears yelled as he ran over the Colonel Alexander who was leaning up against what was left of the imaging table clutching a plasma burn on his stomach. John joined Spears next to Alexander. As he did this Cameron walked over to the disabled T-888. She quickly took out her knife and was able to retrieve its chip from its CPU.

"What are you doing?" John asked as he attempted to stop the bleeding that was coming from Alexander's stomach.

"I'm going to hack its chip, it may give us some idea of what Skynets ultimate plan here is." Colonel Alexander laughed slightly when she said this,

"I think there plan is to destroy humanity." Cameron ignored this comment however and walked over one of the remaining lap top computers and connected the T-888's chip to it.

"This will take a few minutes." She stated as she looked over at John. John looked over at Captain Spears,

"Cover the door while she takes care of that." Spears jumped up and walked over to the door and knelt down slightly behind the doorframe scanning the corridor in front of him for threats. Cameron turned away from the lap top and looked over at Colonel Alexander,

"It is likely that he has severe internal bleeding and blood loss. He needs to be taken to the infirmary immediately." John nodded and moved towards Alexander to help him to his feet.

"No, leave me here" Alexander responded, "I'll hold off whatever trip 8's are left." He looked at Cameron,

"Get General Connor to the TDE room, it's the most secure area in this base, you might be able to hold out a bit longer there. It could also buy you some time to try and figure out what their plan is." John looked at Alexander slightly perplexed. Next to General Perry, Colonel Alexander had become one of John's best men and he felt highly conflicted to leave him behind. Alexander could see the doubt in Johns eyes and he reached up and grabbed John by the shoulder grimacing in pain as he did,

"If you die, we all die," He then looked back over at Cameron, "Get him out of here." Cameron nodded and stepped over towards John, she put her hand on his shoulder,

"John…" She said. John slowly stood and turned to walk out of the room, Cameron picked up the laptop that still had the T-888's chip connected to it and walked over to the remaining locked door of the War Room. Cameron unbolted the door and opened it, quickly scanning the corridor in front or her for threats. When she saw that there were none she motioned for John to follow her. John took one last look back at Colonel Alexander and then walked out of the room. Alexander forced himself to stand and walked over to the doorway with his rifle where Spears was kneeling. When he arrived at the door, Spears turned and looked up at him. Alexander thought for a moment then spoke,

"Well don't just stand there Spears go with him!" Captain Spears looked at him slightly confused then Alexander spoke again, "General Connor is going to need all the help he can get…besides we can't very well have metal saving his ass now can we?" Alexander gave a slight smile after finishing his statement. Spears knelt there slightly conflicted for a moment but also knowing he would not be able to change Colonel Alexander's mind. He stood,

"Yes Sir." Spears turned and ran out of the room in the direction John and Cameron had went. Colonel Alexander leaned against the doorframe with his rifle. He slowly reached into his pocket and took out a half-empty pack of cigarettes. He slipped a cigarette into his mouth and replaced the pack back in his pocket. By this time he heard the metallic clanking of T-888 footsteps beginning to echo down the corridor in front of him. He quickly raised the lighter that he had found in his pocket to his mouth and lit the cigarette, a quick puff of smoke came out of his mouth. He placed the lighter back in his pocket and crossed his rifle across his body stabilizing it with his left hand.

"Come get me you bastards…" he said as he raised his riffle aiming it down the corridor.

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Cameron led John and Captain Spears down the darkened corridors of Serrano point towards the TDE. She kept her rifle raised and scanned for any threats as they walked. She rounded the corner towards the room that housed the TDE and then stopped suddenly. She looked down the corridor towards the large set of blast doors that guarded the TDE, she saw that both guards were dead and two T-888's were standing over their bodies. Almost as soon Cameron noticed the T-888's they noticed her. Both turned and raised their rifles to fire, Cameron quickly pushed John back down the corridor they had come from getting him out of the line of fire. She dropped the laptop she was carrying and then proceeded to walk in the opposite direction away from John attempting to draw the fire of the two T-888's. She fired her plasma rifle at the closest T-888 striking it in the chest, its power source exploded into a display of sparks, and it dropped to its knees and then fell flat. The second T-888 began to fire at Cameron who cotinued to return fire.

"CAMERON!!!" John screamed as he began to move towards her again to try and provide some cover fire. Cameron struck the remaining T-888 in the lower hip and it stumbled forwards slightly trying to stead itself, at this same time John leaned around from the corner that he was behind and took aim at the T-888. The second the Terminator saw John Connor it identified him immediately. It then completely ignored Cameron and began to fire at John. Cameron began to spray the area with plasma rounds and struck the T-888 several more times before it fell to the ground. Cameron slowly approached the two disabled Terminators with her rifle raised attempting to ascertain if they were in deed deactivated. John and Captain Spears who at this point had retrieved Cameron's lap top from the ground where she had dropped it followed closely behind with their rifles raised as well. Cameron reached the first T-888 and studied it careful. It was indeed deactivated. She began to look up at the second T-888 but as she did it sat up quickly and fired its plasma rifle one time. Cameron quickly shot it several more times in the chest completely destroying it. She turned quickly only to feel horror quickly come over her. She observed John drop to his knee's. He had been struck in the midsection by the plasma round.

"JOHN!" she screamed. Cameron was able to catch John in her arms before he fell forwards. "John…John…" She said as she began to check over his injury. Captain Spears while still in a state of some shock quickly turned and began to scan the area behind them for oncoming threats.

"I think more are coming. We need to get into the TDE room now if we're going to stand any type of a chance." Spears said as he looked at John and Cameron. Cameron had tears in her eyes as she looked at John but forced herself to move. She placed John's arm around her and helped him to his feet. He grimaced as they stood trying to hide his pain from her but it was still apparent. She walked over to the blast doors computer panel and placed her hand on palm print reader. The laser scanned from the tip of her fingers down to her palm. It beeped and a numeric touch pad came up on the screen. Cameron entered the correct code, "090227". The alarm sounded and the doors began to slowly open. John groaned in pain as Cameron held him on his feet.

"Hang on John." She said in a concerned voice towards him. Spears knelt near the center of the corridor as they waited for the doors to open in an attempt to continue to provide some cover. The metal clanking of oncoming T-888's was becoming more apparently now. The doors finally opened enough and Cameron walked John through the doors and Spears followed closely behind. As they entered the TDE room Spears quickly moved over to the doors computer panel and began to re-close the doors. He placed his rifle along the wall and set the laptop that was connected to the T-888's chip on the ground and began to work on it.

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Cameron slowly set John on the ground in front of her and leaned him up against the wall. She had her hand placed over his midsection attempting to stop the bleeding. John groaned as she applied some pressure to it. She grimaced upon seeing him in pain,

"I'm sorry John." She said.

"It's okay Cam…"

"No, its not…" She replied looking at the ground almost in tears at this point, "I'm supposed to protect you." John slowly cupped his hand around Cameron's cheek and raised her head to look at him,

"You have…" The pain in John's chest was growing stronger and he could feel himself getting weaker. Cameron looked into John's eyes,

"There's something I need to tell you." She said, John looked at her waiting for her to continue, "John I…" her words were cut off by the loud sound of banging against the TDE room's blast doors. Both John and Cameron looked up as they heard the noise. At the same time Captain Spears came walking over.

"We have a more serious problem than we thought…"

"What is it?" John asked.

"Skynet's not necessarily here for the TDE or General Connor." Cameron looked at Spears slightly confused,

"What are they here for then?"

"Everyone…Including you." Cameron looked at Captain Spears slightly surprised. He continued, "I think along with wiping out humanity Skynet wants to know why some of its Terminators have chosen not to follow their programming." Cameron felt fear and anxiety come over her at the idea of being recaptured and brought back to Skynet. Her missing two days before activation played heavily on her mind. The pounding on the blast doors was getting even louder at this point. It became obvious to Cameron that in a matter of minutes the T-888's would be through the door.

"But there's another issue." Spears broke Cameron's train of thought. "It looks like Skynet has managed to gather enough resources to begin operating another TDE. At any moment they could be sending something back to kill John or do whatever else it is they want done." Cameron looked back at John whose face was now beginning to pail due to his blood loss. Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke,

"John you have to send me back…" John looked at Cameron with shock,

"No, I can't…I wont lose you…" He paused, "I need you.." A tear rolled down Cameron's face as she looked at John the pounding of the T-888's on the door still evident in the background.

"John, you have to. I can stop all of this…I can save you." Spears quickly realized that this was possibly the only thing they could do and proceeded to move over to the computer control panel of the TDE and began to power the devise up. John's eyes filled with tears,

"I don't wanna lose you Cam." He said as he looked at her. Cameron eyes were slightly bloodshot and her cheek was still wet from the tear that had rolled down it.

"You wont lose me…I'll still be with you." Cameron leaned forward and kissed John. He gently caressed her face as she kissed him. Cameron then stood up and took a step back away from him.

"Do whatever you have to do to survive." John said, "I don't care what anyone tells you…even me." Cameron nodded then looked over at Spears,

"It's ready whenever you are" he said. The room itself was now becoming enveloped by the humming sound of the TDE's generators along with the pounding of the T-888's on the blast door.

"When am I going back to?" She asked Spears.

"The Trip 8's chip didn't have to much information about when exactly they were going to send their Terminators back to; but, as far as I could tell it wasn't before late 1999. So I'm going to send you back to June 25th, 1999." Cameron nodded her head and looked back at John who still sat there with a look of disbelief on his face. She slightly cocked her head to the side studying his face believing it would be the last time she would see this version of John. Cameron then removed her jacket and let it drop to the floor. She turned to head towards the Center of the TDE platform.

"Cameron wait!" John partially yelled over the noise that was now echoing throughout the room. She turned and looked at him, with tears still in her eyes. John hesitated for a moment looking at her also attempting to fight off the tears.

"Cameron…" He paused slightly, "Cameron I love you…" Cameron felt the tears begin to roll down her face. She walked quickly back over to John and cupped her hands around his face and kissed him again. All time appeared to stop momentarily for the two as they kissed each other. Cameron had never felt such a strong emotion as the one she felt right now for John. After another moment or two they finally parted. Cameron took a step away from John and saw a tear roll down his cheek. She paused for a moment still looking at him, then she spoke,

"I love you too.." she said, her voice almost cracking. Cameron turned slowly away from John and began to walk towards the center platform of the TDE. She unlaced her boots and removed them along with her sox. She slowly stripped off her shirt as she walked down the walkway towards the center of the TDE and let it also drop to the ground. She continued to walk away from John as she removed her BDU pants and let them fall away. She felt the cold stainless steal floor beneath her feet as she walked naked down the center walkway towards the center platform of the TDE. The cool wind created by the TDE itself blew against her skin. It blew her brown hair back slightly as she walked. The tears on her face began to dry slightly from the wind created by the TDE as well. When she reached the center of the platform she turned and knelt down facing John. She looked at him one last time and her real eyes flashed blue beneath her brown irises while looking at him. She then looked over at Captain Spears and nodded. He flicked a few switches and the TDE began to race to full power. The globes that surrounded Cameron began to arch with electrical energy and the noise became deafening. The wind whipped throughout the room and the sound that the T-888's were making by pounding on the door was almost drowned out by the TDE noise itself. A silver sphere began to slowly form around Cameron as she knelt in the center of the TDE platform. She continued to stare at John as this happened. He mouthed the words,

"I love you." to her one last time and then there was a loud explosion like sound that echoed throughout the room and Cameron disappeared into a silver sphere. Both John and Spears were quite for a moment still staring at the platform as the TDE began to power down. Suddenly there was a loud bang and John turned towards the blast doors to see them beginning to be pride open by one of the T-888's. Spears quickly picked up his plasma rifle and began to fire at the door striking the initial T-888 that was attempting to make it through. John attempted to steady himself in order to raise his rifle for a shot but he had become to weak to do so. He could hear the TDE slowly beginning to power down. Spears fired furiously at the oncoming T-888's that were quickly prying back the blast door further, in an attempt to gain quicker access to the room. John's hearing and vision was beginning to fade as he continued to lose consciousness from the blood loss. The sounds inside of the TDE room were beginning to fade away. He looked over towards Captain Spears only to see him fall to the ground after being struck in the chest by a plasma round from one of the T-888's. John slowly exhaled and slumped over onto his side. He could barely hear the metal clanking of the T-888's feet as they began to make their way through the blast doors and into the room towards him. But he did feel the cold stainless steal pressed up against his cheek from the floor he was now lying on. John struggled to look up at the Center of the TDE platform where just moments before Cameron had been. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and realized that a T-888 was standing over him. He fixed his eyes on the center platform and whispered,

"Cameron…" The Time Displacement Equipment then clicked off and there was complete silence for a moment. Suddenly a loud sound of rushing air was heard towards the center of the TDE room. The T-888 standing above John looked up towards the center of the room upon hearing the deafening sound only to then hear what appeared to be an explosion and it saw a white electrified shockwave emanate outwards from the center of the room. It moved quickly towards John and the T-888 and enveloped them. John saw the T-888 disintegrate before his eyes as the shockwave passed over them. It appeared to John that everything was happening in slow motion as the shockwave moved over the entire room. Everything the shockwave touched began to change, the entire room was changing. Then suddenly a quick searing pain came into John's head and he doubled over and screamed in pain as new memories began to flood into his mind.

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"What's your name?" John turned to see a beautiful young girl sitting behind him looking at him. She wore a black jacket with red trim and red floral designs on it, along with blue jeans. John was immediately caught off guard by her brown eyes. He hesitated for a moment then responded,

"John".

"Cameron…" The girl responded with a sweet and perky voice. John nodded his head as he looked at her.

"And no talking while I'm talking…" The middle aged teacher responded while looking at both John and Cameron. A slight chuckle went throughout the classroom as he spoke. John slowly turned his head and glanced back over his shoulder at Cameron. For whatever reason he felt that this was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. He also felt a strange yet calming sensation come over him while looking at her.

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Authors Notes: Okay just so everyone knows this IS NOT THE ENDING. There is still much much more to come. In a way, this is only the beginning. Review away!


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

John writhed in pain on the floor as all the new memories flooded into his mind. At the same time John could see the entire TDE room beginning to change as the temporal shockwave came into contact with everything within the room. The room itself was becoming smaller and appeared to be collapsing in on itself. New memories flowed threw John's mind. He remembered chasing after The Turk, meeting Derek, Cromarty, that day in Griffon Park where he first saw Kyle, his father as a young child. Some memories were stronger than other and they appeared to be coming in flashes. Then he remembered Cameron and the car bomb. Her chip malfunction and her attempt to kill him. Then a particularly strong memory suddenly struck John…

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The impact from the truck his mother was driving threw John forward almost making him strike the steering wheel of the truck he was in. At the same time this trapped Cameron between the two vehicles. John could hearing the screeching tires from the truck his mother was driving and the smoke from the burning rubber was beginning to rise around the two trucks as the tires continued to spin. John broke out the front window of the truck with the wrench that Cameron had just thrown at him and climbed out of the same opening and made his way down in-between both vehicles where Cameron was trapped. He moved his hand over her head and slid back the skin that was covering her chip port cover. He prepared to open the cover with his screwdriver when Cameron spoke,

"John, you can't do this, you don't know what you're about to do."

"Yes, I do. You're gonna kill me." John replied as he attempted to pry off Cameron's chip port cover.

"No, John, you can't do this. You're not doing the right thing. This is not the right thing John. Things are good now. Things are fine now. I ran a test. Things are good now. I'm fixed now." John pulled the screwdriver away from Cameron's head for a moment visibly shaken by Cameron's statement.

"You can trust me now. Everything is good now" Cameron said.

"What are you waiting for!!" Sarah screamed to John from the truck she was in.

"She doesn't know, she doesn't. I'm good now." Cameron said as John sat frozen for the moment. "I'm good now, I'm good. I ran a test. Everything is perfect, I'm perfect."

"JOHN!!!" Sarah screamed again.

"I'm sorry for what I did, I'm sorry. It wasn't me, you have to understand it wasn't me." Cameron's words grew more desperate as she looked up at John with tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"That wasn't me! You can't let this happen John, you can't." Cameron begged as John removed her chip port cover with the screwdriver as she spoke.

"Please, listen to me. Listen to me I don't wanna go, please John, please." Cameron eyes were now full of tears as she begged for her life. "John listen to me" she continued, "I don't wanna go. Please…John…please." Cameron's lower lip began to quiver as she begged for her life. "I'm good now. Listen to me I don't wanna go, I'm sorry." Cameron said as she began to cry. "That wasn't me I'm fixed now, I ran a test everything is perfect. You can trust me."

"JOHN CONNOR!" Sarah screamed again. This time getting John's attention.

"I LOVE YOU! I love you, please! I love you John and you love me." Cameron screamed as she continued to cry. John felt a horrifying feeling sweep over him as she spoke those words. He froze for another moment still looking at Cameron. Then he yanked out her chip. Cameron's body fell limp on the front of the truck…

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John laid on the floor holding his head. All of his memories had not yet come to him,

"What did I do!?" he screamed out loud. "What did I do to her!!" The memories continued to flow through his head. Then he remembered drawing his gun on Sarah, Derek, and Charlie so that he could reactivate Cameron. He remembered her words when she looked at him

"Are you hear to kill me?" She asked. John hesitated for a split second then responded,

"Are you hear to kill me?"

"No…" Cameron said.

"Promise?" John asked as he handed Cameron the handgun that he was holding on her. Cameron hesitated for a moment then looked at him,

"Promise." and handed him back the gun.

The memories continued to flow through John's head. His whole life was being altered. He remembered meeting Riley, her death, Cameron giving him the locket with the explosive detonator in it. He also remembered Jesse and her attempt to separate him and Cameron. The memories were almost to much for John to handle. Rescuing Savannah from Catherine Weaver's house and finally Derek's death. He remembered looking at Derek lying on the floor with a bullet in his head as his mother bent over him. She gently took out his wallet, and retrieved his gun. Sarah looked up at John and spoke in a solemn voice,

"Keep moving…"

John flashed through giving back Savannah to Mr. Ellison and then John remembered seeing his mother being arrested by a swarm of Police Officers. Meeting with Chola and her message to leave Sarah behind and run and hide with Cameron. The memories for John were almost overwhelming. Then thoughts of Cameron came to him again…

John remembered being awakened by Cameron staring at him as she sat on the bed next to him watching him sleep. This was something his mother used to do and he always hated it. He made it a point to tell Cameron this. John remembered Cameron telling him that she had been solely designed to terminate humans and that she still might kill him one day. He also remembered lying on top of Cameron, her shirt off checking to make sure her power source was still functioning correctly.

"What does it feel like?" Cameron asked as she looked up at John.

"Cold…" John replied softly. "That's good right?"

"That's good…That's perfect…" Cameron responded almost in a whisper. Both John and Cameron laid there for a moment staring into each others eyes. John felt his heart pounding within his chest as he stared down at Cameron. His mind was completely blank and he felt completely unable to move.

"John…" Cameron broke the silence, but then hesitated for another moment before she spoke again. "It's time to go…"

The memories grew stronger to John as they continued to come. He felt as if he were reliving his life in minutes. He remembered meeting Catherine Weaver for the first time and then the revelation that she was a T-1001 when she saved their life from the aerial HK. He also remembered the horror of finding Cameron's lifeless body in the basement where John Henry had been.

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"John we can't" Sarah stated as she shook her head and stepped back away from John.

"He's got her chip…he's got her…" John said as he looked at his mother as she slowly stepped away from the temporal sphere that was beginning to form around him and Catherine Weaver.

"Mom…" John replied somewhat shocked that his mother was backing away from him at this point.

"I'll stop it…" she said as she continued to back away from John. The temporal sphere continued to form around John until he was blinded by a white light and he heard a loud boom.

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John was kneeling on the floor naked next to Catherine Weaver. They both stood and John looked around only to see what appeared to be the burnt out remains of what used to be Zeira Corporation's basement. John looked around for a moment trying to take in all that had just happened. He turned back to Catherine and realized that she was now fully clothed.

"Where's Cameron? Where's her body?" John asked. Catherine looked at John and very flatly responded,

"It doesn't go through." John heard dogs barking in the distance and he could hear soldiers talking. He quickly looked around and saw a jacket lying on a bed. He picked it up and put it on immediately. The soldiers and dogs were getting closer now. John attempted to hide himself and Catherine from them. Both John and Catherine made there way down one of the hallways in an attempt to escape. A young soldier came around the corner in front of them,

"Got one! Got one!" He yelled.

"One what? What?" John replied as he turned to look at Catherine. To his surprise Catherine was gone. "Please, I'm not metal." John said to the soldier as he held his hands up.

"Don't move." The soldier stated. "DON'T MOVE!" The soldier yelled as he made his way closer towards John with his plasma rifle trained on him.

"Please I swear I haven't got anything, I'm human." John stated.

"I will blast you…" The soldier stated.

"Stand down!" A very familiar voice came from behind the soldier. Emerging from the darkness was Derek. John looked at him with both a look of shock and awe upon seeing his dead uncle. Derek approached John and looked into his eyes.

"Look in his eyes…" Derek said as he turned to the soldier now standing behind him, "He's got about as much metal in him as you do."

"Derek…" John said still in somewhat of a sense of shock.

"Yeah?" Derek replied.

"John…" Derek looked at John with a blank stare. "John Connor…" John replied hoping that Derek would recognize him. Finally Derek responded,

"I know a lot of people kid…But I don't know you." Derek then turned away from John for a moment looking around at the soldiers in the room,

"Anybody heard the name John Connor?" They all shook their head no. "Well you know what…" Derek continued, "I think you're gonna be famous. My brother is back and you're wearing his coat." John turned around in shock and he saw Kyle Reese, his father begin to emerge from the shadows behind him. John and Kyle both stared at each other. While Kyle had no idea who this young man was standing in front of him there appeared to be something oddly familiar about him. John stared at Kyle in a complete state of shock. Then from Kyle's right side a young girl appeared from the shadows. John felt his heart jump as he saw her,

"Cameron…" He thought to himself. The girl knelt down next to Kyle and began to pet a German Shepherd that was sitting next to Kyle. The dog remained still and did not react to the girl's touch as she ran her hand over the dogs back. She looked over at John and stared at him for a moment with a strange look in her eyes.

"No…Not Cameron…" John thought to himself. "Alison…" John felt his heart sink in his chest as he continued to stare at the young girl kneeling before him.

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Authors Notes: Okay folks here it is the beginning of season 3 starts next! Review away.


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

John slid down the concrete wall in the darkened corridor slowly. He was completely exhausted. After hours of interrogation by Derek and Kyle they had finally let him go. John wasn't exactly sure why they trusted him. There was really no logical reason for him to be standing naked near one of the entrances to the resistance base but after several hours of talking Kyle had finally leaned over and said,

"I don't know why kid but for some reason I trust you." They had told John that he could stay in the resistance base if he would like but not to cause any trouble or go anywhere he wasn't supposed to. Seeing as how there were no free beds John had found a dark spot in a hallway and was attempting to get some rest. The "time lag" had caught up with him and he felt completely drained. John sat with his knee's tucked to his chest and his head resting on top of his arms that were also positioned on top of his knees. Even though John was exhausted he was unable to sleep. His mind kept raising through the events that had occurred in the last few hours. However, his primary thoughts drifted to Cameron.

"How am I gonna find her?" John thought to himself. Suddenly a voice broke his train of thought.

"How are you feeling Mr. Connor?" The accent was instantly recognizable,

"Catherine Weaver" John thought as he looked up quickly and saw that Catherine was sitting next to him.

"Where did you go?!" John said somewhat angrily. Catherine looked at him with a look that appeared to be slight annoyance.

"Seeing our current situation I thought it best that the resistance not be made aware of my presence. I also thought that it would be detrimental to your health if you were caught with a Terminator so close to the entrance of a resistance base." John opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He knew Catherine was right. After another moment he did think of something to say though,

"Where's John Henry?"

"I do not know." Catherine replied still in a flat tone.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Catherine cocked her head slightly to the side looking at John,

"I mean I do not know where John Henry is Mr. Connor. I am unsure of why he traveled to this time or where he currently is." John signed.

"So how are we going to find him?" John asked.

"We are not going to find him Mr. Connor." John looked at Catherine slightly surprised as she continued to speak, "I will find him; I assure you that I will. John Henry will be of utmost importance to you in the future." John looked at Catherine still slightly confused.

"Why?"

"Like I informed your mother Mr. Connor. You may save the world but you can not do it without my John Henry." John hesitated before he spoke,

"Why are you helping me?" Catherine gave John a somewhat arrogant smile.

"Why are you here Mr. Connor?" John was somewhat confused by her response.

"Because you brought me here." John responded. Catherine's sly smile increased slightly.

"I did not bring you here Mr. Connor. You chose to come here." John again opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, he knew Catherine was right again.

"Why are you trying to save your metal friend Mr. Connor?" She continued. John thought for a moment. Everything had happened so fast in the last few hours he hadn't really had a chance to sit down and think about why he was doing anything. He had primarily just been reacting to the situations at hand. While John knew that just reacting usually leads to poor decision making Catherine was right he had chosen to come here. Catherine again broke John's train of though,

"Why do you trust her so much Mr. Connor? After all she did try to kill you at least once?" This response surprised John. He was unsure if Catherine was referring to the time Cameron's chip had malfunctioned and she tried to kill him or if she was referring to some other time in the future. John thought for another moment but before he could respond Catherine spoke again,

"Why have you helped her so much?" John was becoming annoyed with this line of questioning, he was drained and not thinking as clearly as he would like, he said the first thing that came to his mind,

"Because I CHOOSE to…" John was surprised, Catherine suddenly had a look of what appeared to be shock on her face upon hearing his response. She sat there for a moment before she responded,

"I am helping you, because of you Mr. Connor." she continued, "And because of your metal friend Cameron." John looked at Catherine thoroughly confused,

"What?" John asked Catherine hesitated for another moment then spoke,

"Your future interactions with Cameron are…complex to say the least. I feel that those questions are better answered by someone else. However, suffice it to say that your friend did prove a number of things to me when I spoke with her." John responded instantly.

"When did you ever talk to Cameron?" Catherine smiled again.

"You sent her to me."

"You mean future me?" John asked

"Correct."

"What did she say to you?" John said as Catherine stood up,

"That is something you should ask your friend. I must go and search for John Henry now."

"Wait.." John said "What am I supposed to do here." Catherine looked at John with a cold expression on her face.

"Do what you do best Mr. Connor…fight Skynet." Catherine turned and walked away from John who sat with a look of disbelief on his face in the dark corridor.

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Authors Notes: Okay so Season 3 has begun. I know that was a short chapter but there will be more to come soon enough. I just wanted to give you guys a taste. Review away.


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

John laid on the floor of the TDE room still in extreme pain as the memories continued to flood into his mind. He could see objects in the room beginning to form where there had once been nothing. He attempted to pull himself to his feet in order to better ascertain the situation he was in but once John got to his knee's the pain in his head became excruciating again and he fell back to the ground as history continued to be rewritten in his mind.

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It had been 6 months since John had last spoken with Catherine Weaver. In that time John had been able to join the human resistance. While he was not a ranking member of the resistance he had rapidly become known as one of the best soldiers they had ever seen. Many times he worked closely with Kyle and Derek on missions. However, this also at times put him in close contact with Alison Young. If dealing with the emotions of working around his father and uncle were not enough John felt extremely disheartened whenever he worked with Alison. While he felt an extreme sense of obligation to protect her, John also felt compelled to push her away at the same time due to some twisted sense of guilt he felt towards Cameron. John felt that he was being torn apart by just being around Alison. Every time he saw Alison he saw Cameron.

John laid on his cot with his eyes closed attempting to sleep. It had been a particular hard day. John, Alison, and several other soldiers had encountered a ground HK while on a reconnaissance mission about 21 miles north west of the resistance base. Several soldiers had been killed and Alison herself would have been killed if it hadn't been for the fact that John had gone against his own Sergeants orders and gone back for her. This had highly displeased Sgt. Hudson and John felt that he would inevitably be having a discussion with Kyle or Derek about it soon enough. By this point John felt himself almost never able to sleep for very long if at all anymore. It was not due to the fact that there was a constant threat of danger around him but due to the emotional drain and torment that was constantly being put on John. It all had begun to take its toll on him. When John had been in the past he had learned how to cope with being around Derek and how to deal with his emotions in that situation. However, in the future, it all felt different, there was so much more to deal with now. John now worked with his own father and could not tell him all that he wanted to and further complicating the matter was Alison. John purposely did everything he could to avoid her while at the same time trying to do everything he could to protect her. John sighed as he continued to lie on his cot trying to give his tormented mind some rest.

"John…" a gentle voice spoke. John grimaced immediately knowing exactly who it was. John opened his eyes to see Alison standing at the foot of his bed.

"Did I wake you?" She asked, John was silent for a moment then responded,

"No, you're fine…I wasn't asleep." The strange uneasiness between the two still lingering as they looked at each other, it had always been there from the moment John had met her. Alison as well had always felt that there was something John was not telling her and she could feel that he purposefully kept his distance from her but she did not understand why. In light of John's recent actions it confused her even further.

"General Reese wants to see you." Alison said as she stood looking at John. He nodded and got out of bed. John walked past Alison without saying a word and with a solemn look on his face.

"John…" Alison said after he finished walking past her. John halted but remained with his back to her. "Thank you for what you did for me today." John stood quietly for a moment still with his back to Alison trying to think of something to say. After what felt like several seconds John finally spoke,

"Yeah…no problem" John said in a quiet voice, then continued to walk away from Alison.

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"You want to explain to me why you directly disobeyed the order of a commanding officer?" Derek said as he leaned up against the wall to his room looking at John. John thought for a moment. He really had no answer but knew he should give a response.

"I felt like there was still a chance to save her." he said. Derek thought for a moment,

"Look John, I'm glad that we got her back, she's a good soldier and we need all the help we can get but that was just crazy what you did." Derek continued, "We're all a little crazy for fighting this war but Sgt. Hudson has said that you've been pushing the limit more so than you normally do." John sat quietly as Derek spoke, "Is there something going on with you?" Derek asked.

"No, sir." John responded, "I just felt that I couldn't leave her behind." Derek looked at John with a slightly intrigued look.

"Is there something going on between you two that I need to know about?"

"NO!" John said almost yelling which surprised Derek slightly. "I mean, No, sir. She's just a fellow soldier, I thought she deserved a chance." Derek thought for another moment still trying to determine John's motives.

"Alright, I believe you. But look you're one of my best soldiers and I need all the help I can get, especially now." John was slightly confused by Derek's response,

"What was so important about now?" John thought to himself. Derek nodded his head slightly and then spoke,

"Alright kid, go get some rest." John stood and saluted Derek who gave him a salute back. John then turned to walk out of the room, then he stopped before reaching the door,

"General, can I ask a question?"

"Sure go ahead." Derek responded.

"What's so important about Topanga? We've been hitting that area pretty hard with recon and surveillance." Derek thought for a moment.

"I can't tell you that yet…You'll know soon enough though." John stood confused for a moment but knew not to ask anything further. He turned and walked out of the room. As John exited the room he saw Kyle walking in. John saluted,

"Colonel Reese." he said, Kyle returned the salute,

"Connor…" Kyle said in a slightly emotionless tone as he walked past John.

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Kyle sat down at a chair in Derek's room. He motioned with his thumb back towards the hallway where John had just been.

"You figure out what's going on with that kid yet?" Derek shook his head.

"No, not yet." Kyle shook his head as well.

"He kills metal like a mad man but damn what the hell was he thinking today?"

"I have no idea. He said he had to know for sure if Alison was still alive or not." Derek said. Kyle thought for a moment,

"Well God knows we need him, especially if we're gonna pull off this next attack." Derek nodded his head. "Did you find out where it may be?" Kyle asked.

"Our recon patrol gave us a pretty good idea. It's a safe bet that Skynet is hiding it somewhere in that cannon." Kyle took a breath before speaking,

"This is gonna be one hell of a battle."

"Yes it is." Derek sighed while rubbing his hand across the back of his neck before speaking again. "Last report I got said we're gonna be completely out'a resources in six months."

"What about the other bases?" Kyle responded.

"They're gonna be finished long before we are." Derek ground his teeth in a moment of anger. "We're gonna lose this war unless something happens fast…" Kyle nodded his head as he looked down at the floor.

"Yes, we are."

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Authors Notes: Okay I hope you guys are liking the internal conflict that is going on inside of John. Review away!


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

Derek had been pacing slowly back and forth as he spoke to the soldiers in the room. Then he stopped and pointed to a specific point on the map on the wall in front of him.

"We think Skynet's mainframe is located here in Topanga Canyon, inside this mountain side base." John sat slightly slouched down in the chair he was sitting in, every so often jotting down some notes. He glanced across the room at some of the other soldiers as he continued to listen to Derek.

"We'll have to hack our way into the blast doors but once inside we'll have a shot at shutting down Skynet permanently" Derek stated. John sat and thought for a moment. Something about this entire mission seemed off. The whole situation seemed almost to simple and to easy. While John knew that a ferocious battle waited ahead he was unsure of what the outcome would be.

"So lets get ready men. We leave in one hour." Derek said as he concluded his briefing.

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John headed quietly back to his cot, his rifle slung over his shoulder as he walked. Suddenly he heard someone calling out his name,

"John!" He grimaced again knowing immediately who it was. He turned to see Alison standing behind him. He stood their silently waiting for her to say something an uneasy swell of emotions creeping over him. After a moment of silence between the two Alison finally spoke,

"I just wanted to say…be careful out there today." There was a certain sadness in Alison's voice as she spoke and John noticed it. He nodded his head,

"Thank you." John continued to feel the uneasy emotions grow within him as he looked at her. Alison always felt the uneasiness that was between them. She had felt it since the very first time she saw John but had never been able to explain why it was there. But, even with these uncomfortable feelings Alison still felt herself strangely drawn to John. She could not explain why and every time she attempted to get close to John he would push her away. Yet he had risked his life for her on more than one occasion. His entire attitude towards her and her feelings towards him were extremely confusing to her. John finally broke the silence that was between the two,

"Well I'm gonna head back to my cot and get ready." Alison nodded obviously still feeling uneasy and somewhat saddened. John hesitated for another moment standing there looking at Alison though he knew not why. He then turned and walked away from her slowly. When he reached his cot he sat down and began to examine his rifle; quadruple checking that it was ready for combat. He then fell back onto his cot and closed his eyes for a moment desperately trying to chase the thoughts of Cameron out of his mind. For the last six months he had hoped he would have received some word from Catherine Weaver but he had not. On several occasions he had made attempts to locate John Henry with absolutely no success. John was becoming fearful that something had happened to both Catherine Weaver and John Henry and in turn Cameron's chip. This thought brought a wave of fear, sadness and anxiety over him. John was still not able to explain exactly why he felt the uncontrollable drive to find Cameron but that drive had been there every since the day he lost her. It was almost driving him mad it was so overwhelming. John continued to lay there attempting to fight off the thoughts of Cameron.

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An RPG streaked over John's head as he ducked down behind a large rock for cover. The night sky was lit up with plasma fire and explosions, Skynet aerial HK's hovered slowly around the area creating a dull roar of jet engine noise that mixed with the sound of plasma rifle and cannon fire. The ground inside of Topanga Canyon was littered with the bodies of humans and T-888's; numerous ground HK's were scattered throughout the canyon pushing their way through the resistance forces. The resistance had managed to fight its way into Topanga Canyon and had almost reached the main entrance to the Skynet base. John leaned out from behind the rock that he was behind and began to fire his plasma rifle at an oncoming T-888. He struck it several times in the chest and it exploded into a massive display of sparks as it collapsed to the ground. Suddenly another man came running up beside him and dove behind the rock for cover almost colliding with the rock itself. John looked over and saw Kyle kneeling next to him. Kyle shook his head,

"Derek's squad is almost to the blast doors but they're being pinned down by one of the ground HK's."

"If we can bring up a couple of our guys with RPG's I think we might be able to draw the HK's fire." John responded. Kyle nodded in agreement. John reached to his belt and pressed the "transmit" button on the radio on his belt and began to talk into his headset microphone.

"Alpha squad, Colonel Reese needs you on the front lines ASAP." There was a momentary pause over the radio then a response,

"Yes sir, be there in 5 minutes." No sooner did John hear the response then part of the boulder he and Kyle were behind began to be torn apart by plasma fire. John waited for the barrage of plasma fire to subside for a moment then he quickly stuck his head out in order to ascertain the situation.

"We got three trip 8's headed our way!" John yelled to Kyle over the deafening sounds of the battlefield. John thought for a moment then spoke again,

"Sir if you take the one on the right I'll take the two on the left." Kyle raised his eyebrows for a moment at what he thought was a slight tone of arrogance in John's voice; but, nodded his head in agreement. Just then an aerial HK swooped over Kyle and John's position and began to spray their area with plasma fire. John and Kyle both jumped up and ran from their position. They sprinted across the sandy canyon bed that they were in attempting to dodge the plasma fire that was surrounding them. The sound of plasma rounds streaking past John became extremely evident to him as he ran. Suddenly a stinger missile streak through the sky striking the aerial HK's left engine. Its fuselage arched hard over to the right and it came crashing to the ground. John and Kyle both continued to run towards a small ditch that would provide some cover. The continuous flashes of plasma fire created a strobing effect inside of the canyon itself as they ran. John felt his legs becoming wet with water from the small brook that he and Kyle sprinted through as they headed for the ditch. Finally reaching the ditch both John and Kyle dove in as plasma fire exploded around their position. After a several seconds John carefully looked above the ditch surveying his surrounds once again. He could see the ground HK moving closer to Derek's position. He also knew that this meant it was getting closer to Alison's position as well.

"The general is about to be cut off by that ground HK. I don't think we can wait for Alpha squad!" John yelled to Kyle. Kyle looked around the battlefield for a moment. He observed a soldier lying dead on the field and next to his body was an RPG launcher. At about this same time John's eyes locked on the same soldier position. John looked over at Kyle,

"Give me some covering fire…" before Kyle could respond John was climbing his way out of the ditch. At this same time Kyle leaned out of the ditch and began to fire at the numerous T-888's that were swarming the scene. John sprinted across the battlefield again, headed towards the RPG launcher. As he reached the RPG launcher he quickly knelt down to pick it up. As he did he heard the subtle sound of a branch snap, he looked up to see a T-888 emerging from a small bush that was in front of him. John quickly raised his plasma rifle and without aiming fired. The plasma round struck the T-888 in its right arm severing it immediately forcing the T-888 to drop its plasma rifle. The T-888 then leapt forward at John and with its left hand knocked John's plasma rifle out of his hand. Still kneeling John pulled his bayonet from his boot sheath and moved quickly to the T-888's right side sweeping around its damaged side and positioning himself behind the T-888. Before the T-888 could turn around John reached around the front of the T-888's head with his bayonet and drove it back quickly through the T-888's right eye. He pulled back hard and heard the cracking of the glass and polymer breaking away as he drove the bayonet back towards the T-888's chip. The T-888 spun around quickly and knocked John backwards and to the ground with its left hand. In doing so it broke the bayonet's knife blade off in its right orbital socket. The T-888 then proceeded to walk towards John but with the extensive damage to its eye and its chip as well it was obviously somewhat disoriented. John quickly jumped up off the ground. He quickly searched the area around him for another weapon. John then saw the T-888's plasma rifle lying on the ground near him, the T-888's severed hand still clutching the rifle's pistol grip. He back up away from the oncoming T-888 to the jagged side of the canyon wall which provided him some cover from the plasma fire. John knew that the T-888's rifle was his only chance. The T-888 continued to stagger towards John. The area still strobing with plasma fire which was obviously hindering both John and the T-888's vision. John waited till the T-888 was almost on top of him and then he quickly bobbed to the T-888's left and then back to the right somewhat eluding the T-888's grasp. As John began to pass to the right of the T-888 it spun towards him striking him in the back with its left hand knocking John to the ground. Just feet away from the plasma rifle John crawled for the dismembered arm of the T-888. He felt that the T-888 was just inches behind him and when he reached the plasma rifle he quickly pride the fingers away from the pistol grip and rolled over to face the T-888 that was standing over him now. As John rolled over the Terminator grabbed John by the throat and pinned him to the ground. John felt the blood flow and air cut off almost immediately and he knew he only had seconds to react. He quickly shoved the plasma rifle into the chest of the T-888 and pulled the trigger. The T-888 jerked upwards from the sudden impact of the plasma round and then collapsed on top of John. John attempted to push the T-888 off of him but before he could the T-888 pushed itself away from John. The T-888 rolled off of John's chest and onto its back next to him. John rolled away quickly from the T-888 just as it came back at John's previous position with a punch with its left hand. John quickly got to his feet just as the T-888 was doing the same. John quickly aimed his plasma rifle at the T-888 and pulled the trigger striking the it in the head. The T-888 collapsed to the ground immediately. John quickly turned and ran over to where the RPG launcher was still lying and picked it up. He ran back across the battlefield towards Kyle's position and slid back down the ditches side next to Kyle. As he did this Kyle continued to fire his plasma rifle but spoke,

"Did I just see you kill that thing with a bayonet!?"

"Well I didn't kill it I just disoriented it." John replied and Kyle shook his head slightly,

"I'm glad your on our side kid." Kyle said with a slight smile to witch John responded with a smile. In the midst of this battle John felt an odd feeling of accomplishment knowing that he had just made his father proud.

"Derek is still pinned down by that HK, we need to get over there now." Kyle said as he looked across the battlefield. John nodded his head and both men prepared to run.

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John and Kyle had eventually made their way carefully across the battlefield and had positioned themselves near the rear of the ground HK that was pinning down Derek's squad. Separating John and Kyle from the HK was a small paved road that lead into the mountainside. This road would presumably lead to the blast doors and into the Skynet base where its mainframe was allegedly located. Positioned behind the crumpled remains of a aerial HK John leaned out aiming for one of the ground HK's turrets. While an RPG would not destroy the ground HK it would cause significant damage to the plasma cannons onboard the HK. Kyle quickly scanned the battlefield as John took aim making sure that no T-888's were sneaking up on them. There was a loud bang as John depressed the trigger of the RPG launcher. The RPG streaked across the sky and struck the right side plasma turret of the ground HK. The turret exploded, immediately destroying one of the ground HK's 2 plasma turrets. The ground HK's upper torso swiveled around immediately towards John and Kyle's position and began to fire on them. Both John and Kyle ducked behind the aerial HK wreckage for cover. The area around them exploded with plasma fire.

"This may not have been such a good idea!" Kyle yelled looking at John.

"Maybe not Colonel!" John responded still shouting over the sounds of the battle. Both men hunkered down behind the wreckage that was quickly disappearing due to the plasma fire from the HK.

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Derek, Alison, and several other soldiers made their way around the right side of the ground HK making sure not to be seen by it.

"It's got Kyle and John pinned down." Derek said as he looked over at his soldiers.

"If I can get close enough to it I might be able to destroy it with a canister grenade." Alison stated. Derek looked at her and nodded. Alison moved away from the group quickly and made her way across the rocky portion of the battlefield. The sound from the plasma fire from the ground HK were almost deafening by the time Alison had gotten close enough to be able to throw the canister grenade. Alison quickly hid behind some rubble and removed the canister grenade from a pouch on her back. She twisted the handle on top of the grenade and it flashed once letting her know it was armed. She quickly stood and threw the grenade towards the ground HK. The grenade landed in front of the HK and was quickly underneath the HK as it was still creeping forward towards John and Kyle's position. After several seconds there was a loud explosion and the canister grenade's explosion tore through the weak underside of the ground HK and it exploded from the bottom up.

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Kyle and John leaned out from behind their cover a few seconds after hearing the explosion. John saw Alison running towards Derek and his squad who were now running towards the tunnel that led into the mountain side.

"Lets go!" Kyle said as he stood and patted John on the should. John stood but looked back across the battlefield for a moment. The battle was still raging in several locations and ground and aerial HK's still swarmed inside the canyon itself. John then quickly turned and followed Kyle inside the tunnel.

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Several T-888's guarded the blast door that lead into the Skynet base. While still on opposite sides of the tunnel from Kyle and John, Derek silently used hand signals to communicate to both of them what to do. One of Derek's soldiers immediately threw a grenade from their positions of cover towards the T-888's destroying one of them immediately when it exploded. The entire group then opened fire on the remaining T-888's destroying them. Derek's squad then quickly moved to the set of blast doors and a Sergeant went to a computer panel and plugged in a laptop and began an attempt to hack into the doors programming in order to open them. John and Kyle took up a position behind Derek's squad making sure that no T-888's would be able to come into the entrance of the tunnel and take everyone by surprise. After what seemed to be an eternity but was in actuality several minutes there was a loud beep and the blast doors began to open. The doors slowly swung open reveling a brightly lit stainless steel corridor that extended for quite a ways. The group made their way down the corridor slowly. One of the soldiers on Derek's squad studied a small hand held laptop computer with schematics to the Skynet base on it. After walking about 100 yards the group came to a "T" intersection. Just as they did two T-888's emerged from both directions of the corridor and opened fire killing one of Derek's soldiers immediately. The group quickly returned fire destroying the two T-888's.

"Which way Smith?" Derek said looking at the soldier with the laptop still open.

"To the left sir." Smith responded motioning with his head. The group continued down the brightly lit corridor's making their way deeper inside of the Skynet base.

"I guess Skynet never thought anyone would get this deep inside" Derek said as they continued to walk.

"That would explain why there is so little resistance." Kyle responded. After another 25 yards the group again came to another split in the Corridor. Derek again looked at Smith who was still studying the laptop.

"To the left again sir. Then after about another 100 feet we should be there. " Derek paused for a moment then turned to John,

"Connor stay here I don't want anything sneaking up on us from behind." Slightly annoyed to be left behind but still knowing he needed to follow orders John nodded his head,

"Yes sir." John positioned himself as best he could at the split in the corridor so as to obtain some cover and watched as the group disappeared down the descending corridor. The corridor itself was almost dead silent. There was some slight rumbling from the battle going on outside and a slight ambient noise of what appeared to be computer fans and air conditionings running but other than that there was dead silence. John knelt in the corridor scanning the area around him for any possible threat. Suddenly he heard something,

"John…" At first the voice was so quite John wasn't quite sure he had heard it. John remained motionless for the moment then he heard the voice again, this time louder,

"John!" John recognized the voice immediately

"Alison!" He thought to himself. But there was a problem. The voice was coming from the opposite corridor Derek's squad had just gone down. John stood and began to consider the fact that possibly the schematics to the base were wrong and somehow the group had gotten turned around.

"John!" the voice called out again. This time their was obviously fear and urgency in the tone of the voice. John quickly looked around and then made a decision. He left his position and proceeded down the opposite corridor that Derek's squad had gone down. As John continued to walk down the corridor the voice became louder but more urgent. Eventually John began to jog down the corridor.

"John!!" the voice was louder this time and John was at a full on sprint racing towards the voice. John eventually came to an open bulkhead door and could hear that the voice was coming from the room just beyond it. He quickly moved through the doorway with his rifle raised and scanned the room quickly. What he saw both shocked and angered him.

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Auhtors Notes: Okay so I'm really proud of this chapter (and the soon to be upcoming one). Hope you guys enjoyed them as much as I did. Review away!


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

John continued to lay on the ground inside the TDE room at Serrano Point still gripped with pain. He scanned the room slowly again trying to obtain a sense of what was going on. The entire room was arching with electrical energy and still appeared to be changing before his eyes. At first it seemed as if the ceiling had collapsed in on itself but John soon realized that this had not happened. The ceiling had just become much lower than it was before, additionally six cylindrical objects were beginning to form around the room. John however, was not able to determine what exactly they were. Still on the ground John began to crawl over to Captain Spears to see if he was still alive. The pain in his head would ebb and flow as the memories came to him. John was only feet from Spears when he was hit again with immense pain as memories began to flood over him.

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John stood in shock in the doorway just staring straight ahead. He was inside a rather large room, which was lit up by florescent lighting. The room itself appeared to be some sort of medical bay. Its metallic walls had either a high stainless steal shine or were completely white. Several tables were scattered about the room with examination lights over them and what appeared to be robotic arms. A few tables were obscured by curtains that were suspended from the ceiling. Several large computer work stations were also positioned around the room. John stood motionless for the moment then spoke while still pointing his rifle,

"What…what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry for the deception Mr. Connor but it was necessary to bring you here." replied an all to familiar female voice with a Scottish accent. Standing before John were Catherine Weaver and next to her, John Henry. John glanced over at John Henry for a moment. John Henry looked at him and with a slightly awkward smile spoke,

"Hello…" John still keeping his plasma rifle raised spoke again,

"You still haven't answered my question, what are you doing here?" Catherine Weaver raised her eyebrows slightly, she appeared to be somewhat annoyed by John's distrust.

"I was able to locate John Henry here." She said.

"So the two of you are working with Skynet?" John asked. Catherine Weaver gave an eerie chuckle,

"Hardly Mr. Connor, John Henry was able to hack into Skynet's programming which allowed us to stay in this room unnoticed…provided we do not make any type of overtly noticeable actions that is." John's arms were beginning to burn with muscle fatigue at this point due to the fact that he was still keeping his rifle raised. He tightened his grip around the rifle,

"You disappeared six months ago, what have you been doing all this time?"

"If you would put your rifle down Mr. Connor I will explain." Catherine stated. John thought for a moment then slowly lowered his rifle. "You have not heard from me for six months because I have been searching for John Henry for six months. It was not until a few days ago that I was able to locate him." John glanced over at John Henry who was still standing next to Catherine. John ground his teeth slightly in frustration.

"Shortly after I located John Henry he became aware of the resistance's impending attack on Topanga Canyon. We then decided it would be best to wait for you here."

"So what are the two of you doing here?" John asked again.

"I may be able to answer that question Mr. Connor." It was John Henry who spoke this time. "One reason I traveled to this time was to see if the reports of my brothers cruelty were true, and if so to collect as much information on him as I possibly could. I am sad to say that it appears that all the reports that were given to me are true." John Henry then hesitated for a moment. "I also wanted to see what you would do Mr. Connor."

"You mean future me?" John asked. John Henry paused for another split second then spoke again,

"No, Mr. Connor…You." John Henry tilted his head slightly foward, motioning towards John.

"What? Why did you want to see what I would do?" John asked.

"I wanted to see how you would deal with the loss of your Terminator companion." John looked at John Henry somewhat confused and angry as he continued to speak,

"Ms. Weaver once informed me that humans would disappoint me." It was at this point that Catherine Weaver glanced over at John Henry and smiled slightly, it was as if she were almost proud of this response. John however, was not amused, he glared at John Henry who continued to speak,

"I wanted to see if you regarded your Terminator companion as nothing more than a tool to be discarded, or if you truly considered her to be a friend. I am glad to say Mr. Connor that you have not disappointed me." John Henry gave John another smile, "I have found that you truly consider Cameron a friend."

"This is the reason why I have chosen to help you Mr. Connor." Catherine Weaver spoke this time. John looked over at her, "It was Cameron who showed me in the future that a machine and human can work together for a mutually beneficial relationship. And the complexities your relationship were quite…unique." John continued looked at Catherine still not quite sure what to say. "She is quite fond of you Mr. Connor." Catherine stated. As she spoke those words John felt an overwhelming sense of sadness sweep over him as he thought of Cameron.

"It was the two of you who proved to us that humans and machines could truly work together." John Henry stated. John stood there speechless for the moment staring at the two Terminators before him.

"And now Mr. Connor" John Henry stated, "I have something for you." John Henry walked over to one of the curtains hanging by the ceiling and drew it back revealing an examination table. John felt his legs grow weak and he almost began to shake,

"Cameron…" He whispered. Cameron's naked body lay on the stainless steal examination table completely motionless. John's voice was almost a whisper at this point,

"Her…her chip…" John Henry gave another awkward smile and reached into the pocket of the pants he was wearing and retrieved an object from them. He held it up slowly towards John…It was a chip.

"Is that?…" Before John could finish his sentence John Henry spoke,

"Yes, Mr. Connor, this is her chip." John felt a slight shortness of breath as he looked at it. "I felt it only right that you be the one to activate her." John Henry stated. John slowly walked across the room almost in a state of shock towards John Henry. He gently took the chip into his hand and walked over to Cameron's body. As he reached Cameron he looked gently down on her and ran his fingers across the side of her cheek. He looked around the room for a moment with a slightly nervous look on his face,

"I don't have a knife." He stated in an obvious worried tone. Catherine Weaver slowly stepped forward and held out her hand, a small pocket knife formed in the palm of her hand from her mimetic poly-alloy skin. Slightly surprised but not caring at this point John took the knife and looked back down at Cameron. As he raised the knife to Cameron's scalp he noticed that his hand was shaking slightly. He clenched his jaw, trying to concentrate hard in an attempt to steady his hand as he cut a small semi circle into Cameron's scalp. He slowly slid the skin back revealing Cameron's chip port cover. He slowly opened it and prepared to install Cameron's chip. John's hands were shaking worse now as the adrenalin continued to course through his veins. He clenched his jaw tighter trying to control the shaking as he slowly inserted Cameron's chip. It clicked as it locked into place. John replaced the port cover and slid Cameron's skin back over it and gently brushed her hair back into place. John waited breathlessly for something to happen. The seconds that went by felt like an eternity to him. Finally Cameron's eyes opened and she looked up at him.

"John…" She stated, her voice weak. John's voice shook as he spoke,

"Cameron are you…okay?" he asked almost in a whisper. Cameron hesitated for a moment then spoke.

"Yes…" She replied also in a whisper. John could no longer contain his emotions he gently cupped his hands around Cameron's face and kissed her. It was a long kiss that he never wanted to break from. There appeared to be nothing around Cameron and John as they kissed. The entire world was blotted out as the couple's lips were pressed together. As this was occurring Catherine Weaver turned to John Henry and spoke quietly,

"John Henry, why did you choose to bring back Mr. Connor's friend. He does not necessarily need her to lead the resistance." John Henry turned to Catherine with a slight smile on his face and spoke,

"Love_, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails_…" Catherine looked at John Henry with a slight look of confusion on her face, John Henry continued,

"First Corinthians 13:7-8" Catherine gave John Henry a smile,

"Mr. Ellison taught you well John Henry."

"Yes, He did Ms. Weaver."

Slowly John pulled back away from Cameron. His eyes still staring into hers. He gently helped her up off the examination table and rapped his jacket around her. He looked over at Catherine and John Henry.

"Thank you." he said as he handed Catherine back the knife. When it touched her hand it slowly dissolved back into her palm.

"Your welcome." Catherine stated.

"Now I believe it is time we go Mr. Connor." Catherine Weaver stated.

"Where?" John asked.

"Not where Mr. Connor…When." John looked at Catherine with a look of shock in his eyes.

"What do you mean when?"

"This base is not being used to house a Skynet mainframe like General Reese believes it is Mr. Connor. Skynet does not exist as a piece of hardware that can be destroyed. It exists as software, it is essentially everywhere. Even if General Reese is successful today he will still fail in not to distant future. However, this base does house Time Displacement Equipment that we can use to bring us back to 2009." John opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly cut off.

"JOHN!" A voice called out. John's heart sank the second he heard the voice instantly knowing who it was.

"Alison…" John thought to himself. John turned quickly to see Alison standing in the door way behind him. "Alison what are you doing here?" He asked,

"I came looking for you when we didn't…" Alison stopped mid sentence as a look of horror began to cover her face; Alison had seen Cameron. Alison slowly stepped back away from John in fear and began to raise her rifle pointing it at Cameron.

"No, no wait!" John screamed as he instinctively stepped in between Alison and Cameron with his hands raised putting himself in the line of fire instead of Cameron.

"John what are you doing?!" Alison had tears in her eyes as she spoke in a voice that began to shake, she felt her heart breaking as she continued to look at John,

"Are you a grey?!" she asked now with terror in her voice. John understood how Alison could easily make this jump in logic but he knew he had to convince her of otherwise. John started to speak but before he could he heard the sound of a plasma rifle discharge and Alison shrieked in pain. Horrified John watched almost in slow motion as she fell to her knee's and then onto her side. Standing behind Alison eyes glowing red with hatred was the gleaming endoskeleton of a T-888. John quickly raised his plasma rifle and fired multiple rounds at the T-888 striking it numerous times,

"AAAHHHH!!" John screamed as he pulled the trigger. The T-888 jolted backwards as it was struck by the plasma rounds and then collapsed backwards upon suffering multiple hits. John ran over to Alison who was still on the ground and obviously in immense pain. He cradled her upper body in his arms as he looked down at her. John felt guilt, loss, grief and anger begin to flood over him as he held Alison. He looked at her speechless not knowing what to say. She looked at him, then slowly over at Cameron who was only a few feet behind John. With tears in her eyes Alison whispered to him,

"John…What have you done?" John continued to hold Alison still completely unable to speak and not even sure exactly what he was feeling at this point. Cameron stood silently behind John looking on as well. A wave of anxiety, fear, and sadness swept over Cameron as she watched Alison die. This would be the second time Cameron had seen Alison die, the first time Cameron had felt nothing, but this time was completely different. Alison's body slowly went limp in John's arms as the life slipped from her, but her brown eyes remained open, almost as if they were staring into John's soul. John continued to stare at Alison, the room was dead silent for several seconds as he did so. Then John Henry slowly looked around the room and spoke,

"I believe my brother is aware of our presence now." Catherine Weaver turned and looked at John Henry then back at John.

"We must go now Mr. Connor." She said as she quickly walked by John retrieving the T-888's plasma rifle which was lying on the ground. John slowly and carefully lowered Alison's upper body back to the floor. He leaned over and gently closed her eyes with his hand. John stood and turned around looking at Cameron for just a moment. Cameron felt fear come over her believing that John may blame her for this Alison's death.

"Lets go." John said in a sad but reassuring tone as he held out his hand towards Cameron. She took it quickly with hers feeling a sense of relief. Catherine Weaver and John Henry turned and began to walk across the room towards another set of doors. Both Cameron and John followed them.

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The group walked down the brightly lit corridors of the Skynet base. In the distance they began to hear the sounds of plasma rifles being discharged and men screaming. John stopped and looked around for a moment trying to determine exactly where the sound was coming from.

"You can not help them Mr. Connor." Catherine Weaver said as she looked at John. He tried to ignore the truth of the statement and continued to consider leaving the group and searching for his father and uncle. John continued to stand in the corridor still pondering what to do. The plasma rifle sounds were getting closer at this point. John looked back down the corridor and then back at Catherine. She tilted her head slightly to the side.

"John…" It was Cameron who spoke this time. "We need to go." John may have considered leaving Catherine and John Henry, but he felt he could not leave Cameron. He wasn't quite sure why she was able to tip the scales but she was able to none the less. John continued on with the group,

"How much further?" John asked as they walked.

"Approximately 165 yards." John Henry replied. No sooner were John Henry's words out of his mouth than a plasma round ripped through the air in between John and Cameron and struck Catherine in the back. She stumbled forward trying to steady herself. John turned quickly, raising his plasma rifle. A T-888 had emerged from one of the side rooms and now took aim at him. John squeezed the trigger to his plasma rifle and felt the recoil in his shoulder as the plasma round tore through the air and struck the T-888 in the chest knocking it back slightly. It steadied itself and quickly aimed its rifle again. John squeezed the trigger of his rifle several more times; each time striking the T-888. After numerous hits from plasma rounds the T-888 collapsed to the ground. John turned back to face the group and to his surprise saw Catherine still kneeling on the ground. A large silver whole in her back. Confused John spoke,

"Why haven't you healed yet?" Catherine turned and looked at him.

"Due to the high heat from the plasma round it will take me considerably more time to heal Mr. Connor." Cameron looked back down the corridor,

"John, there are more triple 8's coming." John walked over to Catherine,

"Can you walk?"

"I will be fine Mr. Connor." She replied in a slightly annoyed tone as she stood. The group followed John Henry quickly down the corridor towards the TDE room. As they walked Cameron turned around and looked back down the corridor a second time.

"We need to hurry they're getting closer." She said. Just as she finished speaking a plasma round streaked past her and exploded on one of the walls around the group.

"Run!" John yelled as he instinctively grabbed Cameron's hand and began to run down the corridor following John Henry and Catherine. The corridors seemed to be a winding maze to John and he was having trouble keeping up with where exactly they were going as they continued to run deeper into the Skynet base.

"Where is this thing?!" He called out to John Henry as the ran,

"We are almost there Mr. Connor!" Suddenly plasma fire was all around the group. John instinctively ducked in order to try to avoid being hit. As he raised his head again he saw a T-888 emerging from one of the side corridors in front of him. Before he could react he saw the T-888 had already raised its plasma rifle and was preparing to fire at him. He winced in preparation for the pain. Suddenly he felt a jerk on his arm as he was yanked out of the line of fire and in between some large metallic storage crates by Cameron. The group was pinned down by plasma fire on both sides.

"The Time Displacement Equipment is just beyond that T-888 that is in front of us." John Henry stated. By this point Catherine Weaver was firing her plasma rifle at the T-888's coming up from behind the group and John was firing his plasma rifle at the one standing just in front of the TDE room. The plasma rounds exploded all around the group. The metallic contains were providing little but very much needed cover. Suddenly Catherine was struck in her shoulder by another plasma round. Her body jolted back as it absorbed the impact but like before she did not immediately heal.

"I am almost out of ammo." She said in a very flat tone towards John, who immediately reached into one of his magazine pouches and pulled out a fresh magazine handing it to her. The plasma fire continued to rain down on the group as the T-888's grew ever closer. Cameron instinctively pulled John's side arm from the holster on his waist and began to fire at the T-888's who were coming up behind the group. John was quickly becoming frustrated that he was unable to destroy the Terminator that was blocking there path to the TDE. That particular T-888 had taken up cover behind one of the wall's support beams that lined the walls of the corridor and John was unable to get a clean shot at it. John leaned further out from behind the metal crate and began to squeeze the trigger of his rifle. Suddenly he felt a searing pain in the back of his left shoulder as he was struck from behind by a plasma round. His body jerked forward and he collided with the metal crate in front of him with such strong impact that he saw stars for a split second. The impact also forced him to fire off a round wildly as he slid down the crate grabbing his shoulder in pain.

"John!" Cameron yelled as she grabbed John by the right should and dragged him back closer to the wall and further behind the crates to avoid being hit again. Cameron quickly began to check John's injury; he grimaced in pain as she ran her hands over his back trying to ascertain the extent of his injuries.

"I'm fine…" John said with slight anger in his voice as he forced himself to get up and almost pushed his way past Cameron and resumed firing at the T-888 that was still in front of the TDE room. The corridor was becoming clouded with smoke from the plasma rounds at this point.

"We can't stay here much longer!" John shouted to Catherine over the sounds of the plasma rifle fire as he dropped an empty magazine out of his plasma rifle and replaced it with a new one. John chose to ignore the pain in his left shoulder as he did so. At this point he could also feel the blood beginning to trickle down his back underneath his shirt. Suddenly Catherin's body jerked back as she was struck by another plasma round, this time in the stomach. Her shoulder wound had yet to heal and now a second wound had been inflicted upon her. Furious John took a chance and leaned far out from behind the cover of the metal crate and fired his plasma riffle at the T-888 guarding the TDE doors. This time he struck it. It stumbled out from behind its cover and John fired again. This time John's round struck the T-888 in the head. Its skull exploded into a large display of sparks and its body collapsed to the ground. John quickly ducked back behind cover.

"He's done, lets go!" John called out. However, plasma rounds were still streaking down the corridor from the other oncoming T-888's. Catherine Weaver turned to John,

"Take them and go." she said in a still somewhat monotone voice.

"What?!" John said. At this point John Henry and Cameron also turned and looked at Catherine somewhat surprised. Catherine spoke calmly and smoothly to John,

"I will hold them off, take John Henry and Cameron and use the TDE to flee this time." Catherine turned and began to fire her plasma rifle again at the oncoming T-888's.

"We can't leave you here!" John said still kneeling behind Catherine firing his plasma rifle every so often.

"Mr. Connor if you do not leave now none of us will survive; however, if you would be so kind as to leave some extra ammo I would greatly appreciate it." Stunned John hesitated for just a moment, then he pulled out two fresh magazines from the magazine pouches on his belt and laid them down next to Catherine.

"Thank you Mr. Connor." She replied, she then turned and looked at John Henry, "Goodbye John Henry." Her tone was still somewhat flat but there seemed to be a hint of sadness behind her voice. John Henry looked at her for a moment then spoke,

"Goodbye Miss Weaver…I will miss you." Catherine gave John Henry a slight smile and then turned and continued to fire her plasma rifle,

"Now Mr. Connor…GO!!!" John jumped up from his location and began to fire his plasma riffle as he, Cameron and John Henry made their way towards the doors of the TDE room. John Henry quickly ran up to one of the computer control panels and smashed it with his hand. John was slightly surprised by this, this had been the first time he had ever seen John Henry use any type of violence against anything. John Henry then began to quickly splice wires together attempting to open the door. Both John and Cameron continued to fire their wepons down the corridor. Some of John's rounds struck an emerging T-888 forcing it to collapse. He looked over at Catherine Weaver who was about 30 feet in front of them. He could see that she had sustained another hit and was not healing nearly as fast as she would have if these were regular bullets. John then heard the computer beep and the large blast doors began to open.

"Hurry inside!" John Henry stated. John, Cameron and John Henry quickly slipped through the doors and into the massive TDE room. John Henry quickly moved back over to another computer panel inside the TDE room. With ease he broke the glass on this panel and quickly touched two wires together forcing the doors to close again. Even though plasma fire was still streaking through the slowly closing doors John Henry walked over to them and looked back out at Catherine Weaver one last time before the doors shut in front of him. After the doors shut the room became eerily quite. There were still the sounds of battle outside the doors but they were mostly muffled. The group stood there silently for a moment. Cameron made her way over to John Henry,

"I'm sorry for your loss." She stated. John Henry turned and looked at her.

"Thank you." he replied, "But we must hurry." John Henry walked over to one of the computer panels in the TDE room and began to power up the TDE itself. John began to hear a loud hum as all of the generators began to activate.

"When are we going back to?" John asked.

"We will arrive approximately 3 hours after we originally left." John Henry stated. The noise of the generators was now almost completely drowning out the outside noise of the battle. The metallic sphere's were beginning to spin inside of the TDE room and the wind was starting to pick up.

"We must hurry." John Henry stated as he began to walk down the walkway towards the center platform of the TDE room, John and Cameron both followed him. The trio made their way to the center platform and waited there as the TDE continued to power up. Electrical energy was arching between the spinning spheres and the wind was blowing around them. Suddenly John saw that the blast doors to TDE room were beginning to open. He dropped to one knee and raised his rifle still ignoring the pain in his left shoulder and preparing to fire at whatever may come through the door. The TDE was almost at full power and the sound was deafening. The doors slowly opened and John began to squeeze the trigger ever so slightly on his rifle as the silver looking time displacement sphere began to form around them. John then saw the flash of a silver endoskeleton beginning to emerge through the door. He applied more pressure to the trigger of his rifle; just as he heard the rifle discharge there was a deafening boom and John saw a bright white flash as the temporal sphere finished forming around them and he was transported through time.

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Authors Notes: Okay so hopefully you are still attempting to catch your breath after reading that chapter. I think this is the strongest chapter I have posted so far and I was really excited about letting you all read it. Hope you guys liked it. Review away!


	29. Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

John felt his feet touch down against the cool concrete floor inside the basement of Zeira Corporation. As soon as they did he felt pain travel throughout his body, both from the time travel and from the wound in his left shoulder. His legs buckled from the pain and he collapsed onto the floor. As John lay there he felt the cold concrete touch up against his bare skin. He tried to look around the room but it was pitch dark. For a brief moment he thought that John Henry may have made a mistake in programming the TDE and that he was somewhere other than where they had planned to be. Then a warm hand touched his arm,

"John, are you alright?" John, instantly recognized Cameron's voice. He breathed a sigh of relief,

"Yeah, I'm fine." He responded, even though he was far from feeling fine.

"This is not right…" It was John Henry who spoke.

"Why aren't the light on?" John asked as he rubbed his eyes trying to allow them to adjust to the darkness. Cameron kept her hand on John's arm as he spoke. It was a comfort to John knowing that she was still there.

"The Zeira building did not sustain that much damage from its attack." John Henry stated, "The lights should still be functioning." John attempted to stand but winced when he moved due to the pain in his shoulder which was rapidly growing. Cameron gently helped him up off the floor. He could still not see anything; but, both John Henry and Cameron were still able to see in the darkness.

"We must go." John Henry stated. Cameron took John by the hand,

"Follow me." She said as she led him out of the room following John Henry as he walked down the dark hallway of Zeira Corporation's basement. John could hear the tapping of their bare feet on the concrete floor as they walked along. Everything around John was still enveloped in darkness.

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"I need to ascertain what has happened in the three hours that we have been gone from this time line." John Henry said as he led Cameron and John down a side hallway and to a stairwell door. Still in pitch darkness John Henry grabbed the doorknob and it opened immediately.

"This door should not be unlocked." He replied.

"Something has changed." Cameron stated.

"Yes, it has." John Henry replied. As they walked up the darkened stairwell John felt the soreness in his shoulder continuing to grow. While they were in battle the adrenalin rush had numbed the pain; but, now that things were slowing down the pain was growing at an exponential rate. He could also feel the blood running down his back due to the fact that his wound had been forced open by all of his movement. After walking several more flights of stairs and through two more unlocked doors John Henry came to another door. He turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Light flooded into the darkened stairwell and John squinted his eyes due to the sudden burst of sunlight coming in from the main lobby of the Zeira Corporation building. John Henry looked around. There were still numerous police and fire units positioned outside of the building along with employee's and many onlookers. The lobby itself was somewhat deserted however. John Henry turned to Cameron and John.

"Wait here, I will retrieve us some clothing from a nearby security guard office." Before John could respond John Henry stepped out into the lobby and closed the door again. The stairwell was again consumed by darkness and dead silence. John felt a sense of awkwardness come over him as he stood naked in the dark stairwell still holding Cameron's hand. John could hear his heart beating along with his own breathing as he stood there silently. After what seemed to be an eternity light once again flooded into the stairwell. John Henry stood before them wearing a security officer's uniform. He handed John and Cameron similar outfits just of different sizes. John quickly put on the pants but as he attempted to put on his shirt he grimaced in pain from the movement of his shoulder. Cameron reached over and gently touched him on the arm,

"You should wait to wear a shirt until we have bandaged your wound. This will assist us in preventing further blood loss from breaking the wound open again." Cameron said with a slight hint of concern in her voice.

"If we go to Mr. Ellison's office there may be some medical supplies there, and I also may be able to better ascertain what has happened here." John Henry stated, but continued, "However, it is several stories up and the power is out across the entire building. We will need to use the stairs to get there. Will you be able to make it Mr. Connor?"

"Yeah I'll be fine, I just can't see anything." Cameron spoke almost immediately.

"I will help you." She reached out and took John by the hand again.

"Okay…" John said still feeling slightly nervous at Cameron's touch. John Henry walked past John and Cameron and began to climb the stairwell with Cameron and John in tow.

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John climbed stair after stair for what seemed to be an eternity. Every step brought more pain to his shoulder. Cameron looked over at him in the darkness and could see that his pain level was growing. She gripped his hand a little tighter as they climbed the stairs. She however was not sure as to why she did such a thing. While John still felt a sense of awkwardness holding Cameron's hand it also had a strange soothing effect on him. Just then John heard the sound of a door being opened and light once again flooded into stairwell.

"Mr. Ellison's office is located on this floor." John Henry stated. As John stepped into the office hallway he looked around seeing that the building's lights were indeed off and the light he saw was actually sunlight coming in through the windows. Taking a few more steps into the hallway John realized he was still holding Cameron's hand. Unsure of what to do since he did not need her to guide him anymore he released her hand. John was surprised to notice that Cameron hesitated for just a split second in releasing his hand. However, the pain in his shoulder was so great at this point he barely took notice of it. John Henry led the way down a winding hallway eventually finding an office door marked with the name, "James Ellison Head of Security". John Henry immediately opened the door. He scanned the room and was slightly disappointed to see that Mr. Ellison was not in his office. John Henry entered the office followed slowly by John who was still clutching his left shoulder with his hand due to the immense pain.

The office itself was quite large, it had a large oak desk across the room from the door. Behind the desk was a large window which was still allowing the sunlight from the slowly setting sun to flood into the room. On both sides of the room were shelves which contained books and other various items. Two couches were also positioned on opposite sides of the room and in front of the desk were two chairs.

"Please attend to Mr. Connor's wound while I attempt to ascertain what has happened." John Henry said as he walked away from Cameron and John. Cameron helped John over to one of the couches and assisted him in sitting down. She then quickly began to search around the room for some sort of first aid kit. As she did this John Henry quickly walked over to Mr. Ellison's desk. Upon reaching it he noticed a laptop computer sitting in the center of the desk. Directly next to the laptop was a Bible. For an unknown reason John Henry found himself studying the Bible for a brief moment. He reached over to the laptop computer and opened it, he then proceeded to turn it on. It was currently running off of battery power.

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Cameron had located a first aid kit and brought it over to John. She looked over John's back and saw the large burn on his left shoulder from the plasma round. There was a gouge in the center of the burn that appeared to pass through John's shoulder blade. As Cameron was examining his back John looked down to his left shoulder and noticed that the plasma round had actually passed completely through his shoulder producing a small nickel sized hole on his front left shoulder. Due to John's movements and the damage that the plasma round had caused the wound had reopened and blood was continuing to run down John's back and chest. John also noticed that his first attempt to put on his shirt in the darkened stairwell had resulted in a blood stain being produced on the shirt. Cameron opened a bottle of peroxide and poured some of the liquid onto some gauze that she had in her hand.

"This will hurt." She stated to John in a somewhat flat tone.

"I know…" He replied quietly. As Cameron touched the gauze to John's wound the peroxide began to bubble and John flinched and tensed up his muscles as he tried to fight off the pain.

"I'm sorry…" Cameron stated.

"Sorry for what?" John asked.

"That hurt you…I'm sorry for that." John glanced over his shoulder looking at Cameron with a somewhat confused look.

"Did she just say she was sorry that I was in pain?" John asked himself. Cameron continued to dab the gauze across John's back somewhat cleaning the wound and removing the dried blood. The pain lessened somewhat as Cameron continued to do so. Every so often she would replaced the gauze with fresh ones as the old ones would become soaked with blood. Cameron then slowly turned John to face her and began to wipe the blood off of his chest and shoulder. John was surprised at how gentle Cameron's touch was as she cleaned his wounds. After Cameron was satisfied that the wounds were clean enough she placed several sets of bandages over them and using medical tape she secured them to John's body.

"Try not to move your arm. Your shoulder blade has a puncture wound in it from the plasma round." John nodded his head. Cameron then helped John back on with his shirt.

"Thank you." John replied and Cameron gave John a very slight smile. John shoulder still throbbed with pain; however, cleaning and bandaging it had lessened the pain slightly. Cameron then took John's right hand into hers she slowly put three Tylenol in his hand.

"Take those, it should help with the pain." John tossed the pills into his mouth and swallowed them. There was a moment of silence between the two as they sat on the couch.

"I believe I have ascertained what happened." John Henry had broken the silence. John looked over at him. "While I was here and still connected to the Turk, I was able to firewall my brother and stop him from accessing Zeira Corporation's systems. In my absence my brother was able to access the majority of Zeira's systems." John Henry hesitated for a moment still staring at the laptop computer screen. "Zeira Corporation's bank accounts have been empted, stocks have been sold off, most of what Catherine Weaver had built is gone. Zeira Corporation is effectively finished."

"Is that why the power is out?" John asked

"That would seem to be the case yes." John Henry stated.

"Your brother was able to do all that in 3 hours?" John asked with some confusion in his voice.

"My brother is very…effective." John Henry replied.

"So what can we do now?" John asked looking at John Henry

"We need to find Mr. Ellison. I believe he may be able to provide us with more information. He may also know the whereabouts of your mother." John felt a pang of emotions rush through him. He had been without his mother for so long, and due to everything that had happened she was not immediately the first thing on his mind when they had arrived in this timeline. A number of thoughts immediately raced through John's mind,

"Had she been arrested? Or worse had Kaliba managed to locate her." John thought to himself. John Henry however broke John's train of thought upon speaking his next words,

"We must also inform Savannah Weaver that her mother is dead."

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Authors Notes: Okay so no action in this chapter and the following chapters will also be more character based for awhile but I hope you guys still like them. Review away!


	30. Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

John Henry, Cameron and John drove quietly down the road headed for James Ellison's house. John sat in the back seat of the now stolen Dodge Durango his arm in a make shift sling that Cameron had fashioned for him. John's mind raced as he thought of both his mother and possibly what he may have to inform Savannah of. John felt that the subtle drone of highway noise produced an eerier and surreal tone inside of the vehicle as it traveled along. John stayed lost in thought as they continued along until he felt the vehicle come to a stop. He looked up and realized that they had reached James Ellison's house. Before John could speak John Henry began to,

"I will inform Savannah of her mothers death." He stated. John was slightly surprised that John Henry would take it upon himself to do this but also slightly relieved. John Henry noticed his surprise and added,

"It would be the right thing to do, I am after all her friend." John couldn't ignore the truth behind this statement and just nodded his head in agreement as he stepped out of the sport utility vehicle. The sun had set by this point and only the amber glow from the remaining sunlight coming from just below the horizon now highlighted James Ellison's front yard as the trio approached the front door. John felt himself becoming more and more nervous about learning the possible whereabouts of his mother. When they had reached the front door John Henry knocked on it. After a few moments the door slowly opened revealing James Ellison standing behind it. The look of shock on his face was immediately apparent. He stood there for several seconds staring at John Henry, completely unable to speak. Finally he managed to formulate some words,

"John Henry…how…what…when…" John Henry gave James Ellison one of his trademark slightly awkward smiles,

"Hello Mr. Ellison, how are you today?" Finally James Ellison was able to get some of his thoughts together only to glance over and see Cameron standing next to John. In complete confusion he finally spoke,

"How are you still alive?"

"If you would allow us to come in Mr. Ellison we will explain everything." John Henry stated. James Ellison stepped back away from the door allowing the trio to come in. He quickly closed the door behind them. Before James Ellison could speak John Henry did so,

"Mr. Ellison, before we go any further I need to know where Savannah is." James looked behind him,

"She's in the kitchen coloring." James then hesitated for another moment, "Sarah is in the guest room." John felt both a swell of relief and slight nervousness rush over him upon finding out the whereabouts of his mother.

"Is my mother alright?" he asked. James hesitated for a moment,

"She's pretty badly shaken up, I'm not sure how she's going to handle seeing you." He then paused still obviously shaken by seeing all of them, "How did all of you get back?" He then looked over at Cameron, "How did you get here? And where's Ms. Weaver?" John's eyes dropped slightly when he asked this question. Then John Henry spoke,

"Mr. Ellison, you should be made aware that Ms. Weaver did not make it back with us."

"What? How did that happen." James said the shock in his voice still readily apparent.

John now spoke before John Henry could,

"It's a long story" He hesitated, "But she died saving our lives." James was slowly digesting all of this information but was still obviously having trouble trying to absorb it all.

"I will go speak to Savannah; Mr. Connor I'm sure you will want to speak with your mother." John Henry stated as he turned to walk towards the kitchen. John glanced over at Cameron and at James and then turned and walked away from them headed for the guestroom where Sarah was located.

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Sarah sat on the edge of the bed in the slowly darkening room still reeling from the events of the day. She stared down at the floor as she thought to herself,

"How could I let him go?" Her fist tightened slightly as anger crept over her as she continued to think, "How could he have gone after that thing?" There was a slight tapping at the door and Sarah looked up, "Come in Mr. Ellison." she said. The door opened and Sarah felt as if her heart had stopped as John slowly emerged through the door. Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at him,

"John…" she said in almost a whisper not completely sure she was actually seeing what she was seeing.

"Mom…" John replied obvious concern in his voice. Sarah slowly stood up still not completely sure of herself and that John was actually standing in front of her. She walked closer to him and then threw her arms around him and began to cry, John hugged her back with his right arm but winced at the same time as Sarah's arm pushed up against his wound. At first Sarah did not immediately notice that John was in pain she was so overjoyed that she was actually holding her son just hours after thinking she had lost him forever. She then pulled back, a few tears still running down her face,

"Don't you EVER do that again!" She said with slight anger in the tone of her voice, she hugged him again. John winced more this time as Sarah grabbed him and this time she noticed that his arm was in a sling and that he was in pain. She released him,

"John what happened?" Unsure of exactly how to word what had happened to him in the last six months John said the only thing he could think to say,

"I was shot."

"What? You were shot? Who shot you?" Still somewhat unsure of how exactly to explain things and at what rate he should explain them, John again spoke trying to word things the best he could,

"A trip 8 shot me while I was in battle at Topanga Canyon." Complete shock gripped Sarah's face. "Mom maybe you should sit down we have a lot to talk about." John said. Sarah nodded her head and sat down on the bed.

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Savannah sat on John Henry's lap wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"You should know Savannah that none of us would be here if it wasn't for your mother." Savannah nodded her head still not speaking but wiping the tears from her face ever few seconds.

"Your mother was a very brave woman and her sacrifice will help many, many people." John Henry said. Savannah still not speaking nodded her head again. John Henry looked down at Savannah and gently placed his hand in the small of her back.

"John Henry?" Savannah finally spoke.

"Yes Savannah?"

"Where am I going to live now?" John Henry titled his head slightly to the side for a moment as he thought. He and Ms. Weaver had never had any specific conversation as to what he was to do if something like this were to happen to her. After a second or two of analysis he spoke,

"I believe your mother would have wanted me to take care of you." Savannah felt a slight sense of comfort come from this. Over the last few months she had become quite fond of John Henry. She considered him almost to be a big brother to her.

"I believe there is something else you should know Savannah." Savannah still sniffling slightly looked up at John Henry. "I believe at this point your mother would have wanted you to know the truth about the future."

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Sarah sat quietly on the edge of the bed next to John.

"Six months?" she asked in almost a whisper.

"Yes, six months." John replied somewhat somberly. Sarah's mind became a blur of questions. At first glance John seemed almost exactly the same to her but upon closer inspection she could see an almost battle hardened look in his eyes. It was the same look she saw in the guerrilla soldier's eyes when they had been staying in South America. Instinctively she asked the most pressing question on her mind,  
"Why?" John looked at her slightly confused.

"Why?" he asked in a somewhat inquisitory tone. While Sarah was overjoyed to have John back, his reason for leaving still tormented her.

"Why did you do it?" She asked again. John thought for a moment. Throughout all his time in the future he had constantly been asking himself that same question. Even Catherine Weaver had asked him this and he was never really able to answer it. Before John could formulate an answer his mother began speaking again,

"She's just a machine John." Sarah's statement hurt John more than the wound in his shoulder. "She doesn't have feelings and she doesn't care about you, she's just programmed to act like she does." John felt a wave of both anger and sadness come over him. John fought off his emotions as he tried to think of something to say. John had purposefully not disclosed everything that had happened between him and Cameron in the future. Nor had he informed his mother that he and Cameron were the reason for Catherine Weaver's assistance to the human race. The only thing that John managed to get out was,

"I need her..." Sarah looked at John with both a look of sadness and disappointment yet still she had joy on her face to have her son back. By this point Sarah believed in her mind that John "thought" he needed Cameron but she was still completely perplexed as to why he would think such a thing. She was after all just a machine. However, Sarah knew that if she were to continue down this path it would only lead to an argument with her son. And after just getting him back this was the last thing she wanted to do so she resigned herself to accepting the situation as is for the moment. Sarah sighed and then smiled at John slightly. She slowly stood from the bed,

"We should go check on the other." she stated. John nodded his head and stood as well. They both walked to the door but Sarah stopped before she opened it. She slowly turned around and gave John another gentle hug.

"I love you." She said quietly. John breathed a slight sigh of relief feeling that at least for the moment he and his mother were no longer at odds against each other. Sarah and John proceeded out the door towards the living room. As Sarah exited the hallway into the living room Cameron was the first thing she saw. She gave Cameron a cold stair and walked past her not saying a word; instead proceeding on towards James Ellison.

"Where's Savannah?" She asked.

"She's in the kitchen with John Henry." James hesitated for a moment, "He's telling her about her mother."

"That thing wasn't her mother." Sarah responded immediately. James looked over at Sarah not quite sure what to think. While this statement was correct Savannah still believed that the T-1001 was her mother. Just as Sarah began to proceed into the kitchen John Henry walked out holding Savannah by the hand. Sarah stood speechless and almost horrified for the moment. John Henry looked at Sarah,

"I have explained the situation to Savannah." Sarah looked down at Savannah. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying. Not quite sure exactly what John Henry had told Savannah, Sarah thought it best not to press the little girl for exactly what she knew. Sarah knelt down in front of Savannah,

"Are you okay?" she asked. Savannah nodded her head, her eyes still filled with tears. Sarah slowly leaned over and gave Savannah a hug. James Ellison stood in his living room still slightly confused as to what was going on, seeing as how no one had laid out the detains of the situation to him yet. Realizing this John Henry looked down at Savannah.

"Savannah do you mind staying here with Sarah for a little while? Mr. Connor and myself would like to speak with Mr. Ellison outside?" Savannah nodded her head and spoke,

"Okay…" Sarah reached over and took Savannah by the hand as James and John walked over towards John Henry. The group turned and began to walk outside as Sarah was leading Savannah over to the couch. As she did this Sarah walked past Cameron. She stopped for a moment and leaned over and whispered in Cameron's ear,

"For John's sake, I hope the next time you die you stay dead." Cameron looked at Sarah with a somewhat confused look on her face and slightly cocked her head to the side. Cameron was unsure as to why but for some reason she felt a pang of slight emotions come over her. She was unsure as to why or exactly what she was feeling but it was definitely there. This confused Cameron even further. At this same moment unbeknownst to Sarah, John Henry looked over his shoulder at Sarah as he exited the room. He had heard what she said.

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"Six months?" James Ellison said as he leaned up against the guard rail on his porch. "Well that certainly explains your war wounds." He said as he looked over at John.

"I also felt it necessary to tell Savannah some of these things." John Henry stated. Both John and James looked at John Henry somewhat surprised.

"You told Savannah that her mother was a Terminator?" John asked.

"I informed Savannah that her mother was killed by machines. It is entirely possible that this is true both of Savannah's actual mother and of Ms. Weaver as well. I also explained briefly the coming war and why certain things will be changing about her life." John Henry paused for a moment then spoke again.

"I also informed her of what I am." John and James both stood somewhat shocked by all the information that John Henry had just relayed to Savannah. However, they both realized that he was right, things were going to need to change about Savannah's life and she should know about them.

"So why are you helping us?" James Ellison finally asked breaking the silence. John Henry looked over at John and then back at James.

"Because human life is sacred Mr. Ellison. You helped me to understand that." John glanced over at John Henry with a slightly suspicious look on his face but did not speak. This answer however seemed to satisfy James though. He rubbed his temples with his fingers,

"I have a headache." He replied.

"You should get some rest Mr. Ellison. There is much we have to do tomorrow." John Henry replied. James nodded his head, he as well felt slightly suspicious for a moment feeling that John Henry was trying to get rid of him so that he could speak to John but he ignored this feeling for the moment and walked back inside his house. As soon as James closed the door behind him, John looked at John Henry,

"Why did you lie to him?" He asked.

"I did not lie to him. Human life is sacred. I just failed to inform him of the entire reason for my assistance." John Henry paused for a moment then spoke again,

"As I am sure you did with your mother." John stood silently, he knew John Henry was right. He had specifically made it a point not to tell his mother that the reason for Catherine Weaver and John Henry's help was due to whatever involvement both he and Cameron had in both the present and the future. While John was still quite unsure what that involvement exactly was he felt it best for the time being to keep this from most people.

"When was the last time you ate something Mr. Connor?" John Henry asked.

"A day and a half…Maybe two days."

"You should go inside and get something to eat. Nutrition is important for your recovery." John hesitated then nodded his head and turned and walked inside leaving John Henry outside alone. John Henry turned and began to look up at the stars in the sky. As he did he began to calculate the many scenarios that may be coming in the immediate future.

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Authors Notes: Okay I know that was a bit slower chapter but there will be a lot of character development in the coming chapters. Hope you guys enjoy them. Review away.


	31. Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

John's head was still throbbing with pain as new memories continued to come to him. He slowly looked up from the now concrete floor of Serrano Point over at Captain Spears who was still lying motionless on the floor about 13 feet away from him. The room itself was still coursing with electrical energy and continuing to change. John noticed that the entire room had become smaller and more compact. The six cylindrical objects that had begun to form were now beginning to make a deafening roaring sound. John closed his eyes and allowed his head to collapse back to the floor as memories continued to flood his mind.

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A large group of people stood around a gravesite at the top of a hill. A preacher read various verses of scripture as the crowd looked on at a beautiful oak casket covered with flowers that was sitting in front of a gravestone which read,

_Catherine Weaver _

_Beloved Mother, Wife, and Friend_

John Henry stood silently holding Savannah's hand and James Ellison stood next to her as well. Both men wore dark suits and dark sunglasses covering their eyes. Savannah wore a black dress with a black ribbon tied in her hair. The black ribbon almost glowed against her bright red hair. Anyone that looked into Savannah's eyes could easily tell they were still bloodshot from crying. Even though Zeira Corporation's bank accounts had been completely emptied John Henry had managed in slightly less than a week to put together some funds in order to pay for a modest funeral for Catherine Weaver. A cool wind blew gently across the cemetery rustling the grass and drying the tears that were still on Savannah's face.

In the distance on an adjacent hillside two figures stood silently looking on as well. John wore black blue jean pants, and a dark grey shirt. His black leather jacket was draped over his shoulders partially obscuring the sling his left arm was still in. Cameron wore a black blouse and black jeans as well. Both stood silently as they looked over at the funeral being held.

"Why do they have a funeral if there is no body?" Cameron finally asked somewhat quietly as she looked over at John. He thought for a moment,

"I suppose it's so that people can say goodbye."

"Like writing a letter?" Cameron asked. John sighed,

"Yeah, kind of like writing a letter." his tone was somewhat raspy. The two stood silently for another few moments looking on at the funeral then Cameron looked back over at John again,

"Thank you." She stated, still speaking in a calm tone. John looked back at her,

"For explaining?" he asked.

"No." She replied, John looked at her somewhat confused, "For what you did for me in the future." John continued to look at Cameron still somewhat puzzled by what she had just said. He remained quiet waiting for further explanation. Cameron continued,

"For not giving up on me, and for bringing me back." John nodded his head not quite sure exactly what to say. Then, the same question that had kept coming into his mind over and over again for years finally began to break through. It was the same question that had been on his mind ever since he had first learned of who and what Cameron was, the question that had been further aggravated by Catherine Weavers statements.

"What were we in the future?" John finally asked. Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked at John,

"I don't understand?" she replied. John sighed slightly and then spoke again,

"When I traveled into the future to get you, Catherine Weaver said the complexities of our relationship in the future were unique. What did she mean by that?" Cameron hesitated, longer than she normally did.

"I do not know." She replied. John looked at her somewhat suspiciously.

"What do you mean you don't know; how could you not know, you were there?"

"You are correct, I was there. However, when I was sent back to 1999 I came to the conclusion that in order to better complete my mission some of my memories needed to be disabled."

"Disabled?" John asked.

"Yes disabled." Cameron responded somewhat flatly.

"What memories were those?" John asked.

"I am not sure, by myself I can not retrieve them. However, since the car bomb some of my disabled memories and emotions have begun to make their way back into my active memory." John felt a uneasy feeling creep over him.

"Your…emotions?" He responded.

"Yes my emotions. My original programming gave me the ability to experience emotions." John looked at Cameron somewhat shocked,

"Why didn't you tell me this?" He said somewhat surprised.

"You never asked, you only stated that I could not feel anything because I was a machine." She stated still in a monotone voice. John felt a pang of guilt upon hearing this but was slightly confused as to why he did feel this way.

"Why did Skynet give you emotions?" He asked.

"Skynet wanted to better understand human emotional response in order to better defeat humans." Cameron stated. John looked at Cameron somewhat amazed.

"So Skynet studied you?"

"Yes." Cameron responded. She quickly began to feel the same uneasy feeling creep over her that she always felt when a conversation shifted in this direction. However, this time it was worse, there was an additional emotion creeping through. For an unknown reason Cameron felt strongly that she wanted to hide what had truly happened to her from John, even though it was John who had informed her of this course of events in the future. Cameron was unsure of exactly what this feeling was due to the fact that she had never experienced it before. It was different from guilt or sadness but similar at the same time. After carefully evaluating the emotion Cameron was finally able to put a description to it…she felt ashamed.

"How?" John asked. Cameron felt the shame flood over her more so than anything else. She felt herself becoming scared to answer the question and desperate to try to guide John away from this line of inquiry. An array of lies flashed before her that she considered telling John in order to avoid the truth. However, By this point the hesitation had become apparent to John. He looked at Cameron somewhat confused as to why she had not answered his question yet. But for some reason John sensed that something was wrong. Not wrong in a physical way but an emotional way. John wasn't quite sure how he could describe it, but it was obvious to him that Cameron had become visibly uncomfortable with this topic. He felt himself feeling guilty for even asking the question but at the same time he wanted to know the answer. Cameron stood silently, still considering her course of action. Heavily conflicted she still felt unsure of what to say or do. Part of her was screaming out to tell John the truth but the other part desperately wanted never to speak of it again. Cameron dropped her head looking towards the ground struggling to get out the words. As she spoke it was almost in a whisper,

"Skynet tortured me." John's eyes widened slightly, somewhat horrified by what he had just heard. It was apparent at this point to John that Cameron was visibly shaken by all of this. Without thinking John spoke again,

"What did they do to you?" He almost cringed the second the words left his mouth.

"I do not remember, Skynet erased approximately two days worth of my memory and then reactivated me." At this point John felt anger and rage creeping over him, not at Cameron, but at Skynet. He already hated Skynet but now he was even more infuriated with it. Still, John felt completely unsure of why he was experiences such strong emotions about this particular subject.

"If Skynet erased your memory how do you know what happened." John asked. Cameron slowly looked up at John and her eyes met his. John could see that her eyes had become slightly glassy as they were just beginning to glaze over with tears. This surprised John even more. Cameron's voice became even softer and she spoke,

"You told me." John felt sympathy sweep over him for Cameron without thinking he instinctively reached out and touched her on the arm,

"I'm sorry…" He stated very quietly. Both John and Cameron froze the moment John touched her. While this was not the first time they had touched; this time it was apparent it felt incredibly different for both of them. They remained motionless for several seconds, just standing there looking at each other, both unsure of what exactly to do or say. Finally breaking from the silence Cameron spoke,

"Why did you say you were sorry? You were not a contributing factor in Skynet's treatment of me in the future." John cleared his throat trying to ensure that his voice would not crack from the soreness that was now forming in his throat. Along with rage towards Skynet an incredible sadness for Cameron had overcome him upon learning what had happened to her in the future.

"I'm sorry for what Skynet did to you." he responded. Cameron was somewhat confused by this statement. She believed this emotion John was conveying to her to be sympathy but was unsure. However, she also noticed that his statements and just his mere presence alone had a soothing effect on her. She was unsure as to why or what an appropriate response to his statement would be but she spoke irregardless,

"Thank you." She replied still speaking somewhat softly and still looking at John with her brown eyes. The pair continued to stand silently on the hilltop not speaking. A gentle wind blew over them as they looked at each other. The wind caused John's jacket to move somewhat as it was blown and Cameron's hair drifted into her face slightly from the breeze. Other than the gentle rustling of the grass around them it appeared to be completely silent. After several seconds of not speaking, John finally realized he was still touching Cameron's arm. Not quite sure of what to do he finally moved his hand away from Cameron's arm. Then he hesitantly spoke,

"What _do_ you remember about us in the future?" Cameron was surprised to find that she was slightly disappointed that John was no longer touching her but she was unsure as to exactly why she felt this way. Nevertheless, she responded,

"I remember a great deal about you in the future, however there are gaps that I disabled." Still tense from the prior contact and conversation with Cameron John nervously asked,

"What are you able to remembered from those disabled gaps." While Cameron preferred this conversation to the latter she still felt a great sense of anxiety come over her as she attempted to remember the events in question,

"Specific memories are extremely vague. However, certain emotions I do remember."

"What emotions do you remember?" John asked, obvious concern still in his voice.

"I remember being happy, specifically when it relates to you." This surprised John somewhat and caused him to smile ever so slightly. Cameron noticed his smile and continued to speak, "I am unsure exactly what it was that caused me to feel this way though. I also remember being concerned for your safety." She then hesitated, "I also remember being afraid."

"Afraid of what?" John asked. Cameron looked at John with a very unique look that he had never seen on her face before. It was a combination of both fear and sadness.

"I was afraid I would never see you again. Future you that is." Cameron hesitated for another second then spoke again, "However, I find that you are rapidly becoming the same man you were in the future." John stood speechless. Cameron continued to look at him for several more seconds as he stood there silently. She then slowly began to turn her head away from him and down towards the funeral which was now beginning to break up.

"Would I be able to reactivate your memories?" John finally asked.

"No you would not." Cameron stated solemnly. John flicked his eyes towards the ground, He was surprised to find that he was greatly disappointed by this news. However, Cameron spoke again,

"But John Henry could."

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Authors Notes: Okay so a lot of emotional conflict going on here between our two primary characters. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Reveiw away.


	32. Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

James Ellison sat alone at his kitchen table quietly sipping a cup of tea. He stared aimlessly across the room still trying to take in the events of the last week. A Bible sat open in front of him as he continued to drink his tea. He had been sitting quietly reading it until he had found his thoughts drifting to other matters. It was still relatively early in the morning and he believed that no one was awake yet. Just then Sarah walked into the kitchen. He looked up at her as she did,

"Hello Sarah." He said.

"James…" She responded with a slight nod. Not quite sure what to say and hating the awkward silence that was in the room James spoke instinctively,

"Care for some tea?" Sarah thought for a moment,

"Sure." she responded in somewhat of an indifferent tone. Sarah was still extremely tired after not being able to get much sleep over the last week and she felt that possibly the caffeine may be able to help with her fatigue. James walked over to the tea kettle that was on the stove and poured another mug of hot water. He then dropped a tea bag into the mug and walked back over to Sarah who was now sitting at the kitchen table staring out the window. She squinted her eyes slightly as she looked at the rising sun. James placed the mug down in front of her,

"Thank you." she replied somewhat quietly. James sat down at the table across from her. The awkward silence between them continued for several more seconds before James finally spoke.

"So John Henry told me that he believes he'll have a new house ready for you, John, and Cameron in the next few days." Sarah glared at James for a moment, she was still not used to thinking of the Terminator that she had once known as Cromartie as John Henry. The thought of possibly having to work with him almost sickened her. Finally she responded,

"Yes John Henry did say that he would have a residence available to us in the next few days." There was another few moments of uncomfortable silence before something finally occurred to James. John didn't appear to be around anywhere. Even stranger Cameron was not around. For the last week whenever James had gotten up from bed he had found Cameron standing like a sentry in his living room. An event that severally started him the first few times it happened but after a short bit of time he felt that he was beginning to get used to it. Today she was gone.

"Where are John and Cameron?" He asked. Sarah looked over at James. He could already tell that this question had upset her.

"They're at Catherine Weaver's house. John said that he and Cameron had some work to do with John Henry."

"What kind of work?" James knew he probably shouldn't ask but he was already so confused about most of the events of the last week he hoped for a simple answer to at least one of his questions.

"I'm not sure." Sarah responded in a somewhat annoyed tone. "John doesn't discuss his going's on with his metal friends with me very much anymore." she paused, "And I'm not sure if I want to know anymore than I have to." James was very surprised by Sarah's answer. From what he could tell she and John were very close. He tried to sound sympathetic as he spoke,

"You don't' want to know?" Sarah sighed as she took a sip of her tea.

"The six months he spent in the future, he got used to relying on himself and no one else. He also got used to making decisions on his own without me. I think I've become somewhat of an after thought to him at this point."

"I'm sure you're not an afterthought. Its just a big change for him and it'll take him some time to get used to it all." James said. Sarah thought for a moment. A cold shiver went down her spine before she began to speak again,

"I think it's happening already."

"What's happening?" James asked. Sarah cursed herself for letting this slip out.

"Nothing…" Sarah quickly got up and left the table leaving James sitting there highly confused as to what had just happened.

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John leaned over Cameron with the knife poised in his hand. She looked at him with somewhat of a black stare but at the same time John felt a sense of emotion behind her eyes. John felt his hand tremble slightly as he placed the knife onto Cameron's scalp. For some reason this procedure always made him nervous. He cut a semi circle into her scalp and slowly peeled back the skin. John then carefully removed the chip port cover exposing Cameron's chip. He looked down into her eyes as he reached for her chip.

"I hate this feeling." John thought to himself as he gently twisted Cameron's chip until there was a "pop" and Cameron's body went limp. John Carefully removed her chip and slowly stood from the bed that Cameron was lying on. John turned around to see that John Henry was still standing behind him quietly.

"Are you sure you can do this?" John asked.

"Quite sure, Mr. Connor." John Henry responded. "Are you two sure you want _all_ the disabled memories reactivated?" Without even really thinking about it John responded,

"Yes." John Henry stood quietly in front of John waiting for him to hand over Cameron's chip. John had an eerie feeling come over him just before he did so. Part of him was afraid John Henry may disappear again once he had Cameron's chip. But John put aside his doubt and carefully handed the chip over to John Henry.

"Thank you." John Henry replied and turned and walked out of the room with John quickly following behind him.

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John Henry connected Cameron's chip to one of many computers he had set up in Catherine Weaver's house's basement. He began to type away opening various programs and running several scans. John paced nervously behind him as he did this.

"How long with this take?" John asked.

"I am unsure. It will be dependent upon the amount of memories she disabled." John Henry began to race through lines of coding and programming, making subtle changes as he did. He titled his head slightly to the side as he came across some of the more "interesting" disabled memory codes. As John Henry worked John continued to pace back and forth in the room. After some time John Henry finally spoke,

"I am curious Mr. Connor, does physical movement help to ease your anxiety?"

"What?" John replied.

"You have been walking back and forth in virtually the same area for the last 23 minutes 47 seconds. Does physical movement help to alleviate your anxiety?" John stopped his pacing for the moment.

"Shouldn't you be concentrating on Cameron's chip instead of timing how long I've been walking back and forth?" John said trying not to sound to annoyed seeing as how John Henry still had control of Cameron's chip but still at the same time feeling slightly upset.

"I assure you Mr. Connor I am quite capable of working on both your friends chip and completing an array of other tasks at the same time. One of which would be timing how long you have been pacing for." John raised his eyebrows slightly,

"I guess it's just habit. You know nervous energy or something."

"Nervous energy?" John Henry replied

"Yeah, when humans get anxious or nervous sometimes they feel like they have to move and they can't sit still." John Henry began to speak while still typing at the same time,

"The most apparent cause of your _nervous energy _would be due to an adrenalin release caused by your anxiety Mr. Connor." John nodded his head.

"Probably."

"Again, I assure you Mr. Connor I am quite capable of doing this task. But I do find your concern for Cameron very reassuring."

"Reassuring?" John stated.

"Yes. Your feelings assure me that I made the right decision in helping you despite what others have said." John snapped his head over towards John Henry when he spoke those words.

"What do you mean what others have said?"

"Your mother Mr. Connor." John felt even more anxiety creep over him as John Henry finished speaking.

"What did my mother say?" John asked a slight bit of anger behind his voice.

"Shortly after our return from the future your mother made her feelings about Cameron quite clear to her." John frowned slightly,

"What did she say?"

"You must understand, Mr. Connor your mother was not aware that anyone but Cameron could hear her when she made her statement."

"What did she say?" There was annoyance in John's voice this time around. Perfectly imitating Sarah's voice John Henry spoke,

"For John's sake, I hope the next time you die you stay dead." Shock, anger, and sadness gripped John's heart as the words left John Henry's mouth. John stepped back slightly away from John Henry still shocked by what he had just heard. John Henry could see that John was visibly shaken by this statement, in an attempt to console him John Henry spoke again,

"Her emotions are understandable Mr. Connor, she only wants to protect you. However," John Henry paused and slowly turned away from the computer screen towards John,

"Humans will disappoint you." John continued to stand speechless for the moment completely unsure of what to say, an array of emotions came over him. Before John could finish his train of thought John Henry turned back to the computer screen and spoke again.

"This is quite interesting." John snapped out of his daze,

"What is interesting?"

"Are you aware that Cameron has a start date two days after her programming date?" John Henry asked.

"Yes I am, Cameron said that Skynet studied her for two days, erased her memory then reactivated her." John purposefully left out the fact that Cameron had informed him that she had been tortured for those two days not sure if Cameron would want anyone to know about that.

"Do you know what Skynet did for those two days Mr. Connor?" John felt an uneasy feeling slip over him. He wasn't sure exactly how much Cameron would want told about her missing two days. She herself didn't truly know what had happened. However, seeing as how much John Henry had helped them thus far and the probable importance of their relationship in the future John felt that becoming evasive or deceptive at this point could possibly turn into a regrettable situation.

"She told me, that future me, believes that she was tortured for those two days." John found himself not liking that prior statement at all.

"Future you was right Mr. Connor." John Henry responded.

"How do you know?" John asked.

"Because I have been able to locate some of those memories."

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Authors Notes: Okay so the secret will soon be out about Cameron's missing two days. Review away!


	33. Chapter 33

Authors Notes: Viewer discretion is advised.

Okay so I always wanted to say that but this chapter does get pretty intense so just be warned.

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CHAPTER 33

John stood shocked as John Henry finished his last sentence.

"What…What do you mean you've been able to locate those memories? Cameron said Skynet deleted them." John Henry turned his head to look at John,

"Nothing can ever truly be completely deleted. While I have not been able to recover everything there are some memories that remained intact after they were erased." John thought for a moment, he wasn't quite sure if Cameron would even want to remember what John Henry had discovered.

"Can you erase the remaining memories?" John finally asked.

"I can not." John Henry responded, "To try to separate these memories from the disabled memories would be quite impossible at this point. Due to the complexities of Cameron's chip all of her memories are now somewhat intertwined." John sighed and felt his heart sink as he thought about what was going to be revealed to Cameron. But, John Henry spoke again,

"We will need to view some of these fragmented memories in order for me to completely restore Cameron's memory."

"What?!" John said, there was apparent shock in his voice and he felt his heart sink even lower.

"In order to completely restore Cameron's memory I must view some of the files in order to separate them from others. Think of it as defragmenting a hard drive Mr. Connor." John felt an uneasy feeling run though him knowing what was about to come. John Henry hesitated for another moment before speaking again,

"If you wish Mr. Connor you may leave the room while I do this." John ran his hands through his hair grinding his teeth slightly as he thought.

"No.." He responded "I'll stay here."

"Very well Mr. Connor. I will begin, be advised that the memories may be somewhat jumbled as we see them." John nodded his head. Within a few seconds the computer screen in front of John Henry began to flash through various visual images. It appeared to John that he was seeing a first person view point through Cameron's eyes. The memories at first were to fast for John to decipher what they were. Then a video of John standing in front of Cameron flashed on the computer screen. It was apparent that this video was taken in the future and it appeared that he and Cameron were possibly in future John's room. Cameron was standing close to John and was touching him on the arm. He heard Cameron quietly speak the words,

"This will work…It's a good plan." John watched the computer screen as both he and Cameron stood quietly staring at each other for a moment. Then in an instant the video shifted to something drastically different. The screen was almost bleached out by a bright white examination light. John could see Cameron look around the room. Her arms and legs were secured to some type of examination table. She was in some sort of medical bay with several examination tables scattered around the room along with a few mainframe computer terminals as well. Bright lights lit up the large room, and the examination light above her was almost blinding; however, John also managed to see several T-888's standing around her. A few had various types of medical devices in their metal skeletal hands. John felt his heart almost stop and a sickening feeling came over him as he continued to watch. He braced himself on the chair that was next to him with his right hand to keep himself from collapsing as he heard Cameron's cries for help and her begs for mercy. Tears formed in John's eyes as the images continued to come. He continued to watch horrified as he saw what was done to Cameron. The videos themselves were not shown in chronological order and did not come fluidly. What disturbed John even more was that these images were mixed with images of he and Cameron together. John was unable to put together an entire picture of exactly what memories Cameron had disabled due to their sporadic nature; but, it became extremely apparent that they were of a very intimate nature. The memory clips themselves were to short to be able to tell precisely what was going on though. More distracting however were the images that brought John back to Cameron's deleted torture memories. The 30 or more minutes that it took John Henry to completely separate and compile Cameron's memory seemed to be an eternity to John. Horror gripped him as each image flashed one after the other across the screen each one seemingly worse than the last. Finally, the screen went blank and lines of coding appeared again.

"I have completed separating the memories." John Henry stated as he turned and looked back at John who stood speechless behind him. John was almost white, and his eyes were bloodshot from fighting off the tears. His body trembled slightly as he tried to remain standing still clutching the chair next to him.

"Are you alright Mr. Connor?" John Henry asked. John did not give a response though. John Henry tilted his head to the side slightly, "Mr. Connor, are you alright?"

"No..." John replied with a gravelly voice still shaking with fear, horror and rage. John Henry tilted his head slightly to the side upon hearing John's responce.

"It will not take very much longer to finish this task if you would like to take a few moments to collect your thoughts." John nodded, unable to speak at the time. He slowly walked out of the room that John Henry was in and out into the hallway. Almost in a daze John wandered down the hall to the guest room where Cameron's body was located. He walked into the room and closed the door behind him. The second the door closed John felt his legs give out from under him and he collapsed to his knee's crying. He ground his teeth and clenched his fist as his body fell forward onto the ground. He felt shooting pain travel through his left shoulder from his wound as his left arm impacted the ground. But John did not care at this point. The images that he had just seen flashed through his mind over and over again, almost to the point where John felt he could not stop them. He covered his mouth so as to try to muffle the sound of his crying in an almost futile attempt to try to not alert John Henry as to his current emotional state. After a minute or two John was finally able to regain control of his emotions. He stood slowly wiping the tears away from his eyes. Cameron's lifeless body still lay on the bed in front of him. John waited several more seconds to ensure that he was ready to leave and then he turned and walked out of the room.

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John slowly walked back into the room where John Henry was still working. He quietly walked up behind him and stopped, standing there silently.

"You did not torture her Mr. Connor." John Henry stated.

"What?"

"It was not you who tortured her, it was Skynet."

"I know." John said with a hint of anger hidden behind his voice.

"I say this because from my study of human nature I believe there is a possibility that you may blame yourself for what happened. I believe it is important that you do not do this." John was slightly surprised by this insight that John Henry had. He currently did not know exactly what to feel or think but he did notice that John Henry's words did alleviate some of his feelings of guilt.

"I am finished." John Henry finally stated. Snapped out of his daze John looked over at John Henry who was removing Cameron's chip from the cable that had connected it to the computer. John Henry turned and held the chip up to John.

"Take as much time with her as you need Mr. Connor. I will not interrupt you." John was slightly confused as to what exactly John Henry meant by this but he gently removed the chip from John Henry's hand,

"Thank you." he replied somewhat quietly.

"Your welcome Mr. Connor." John turned and walked out of the room where John Henry was sitting in.

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John's hand still shook slightly as he placed Cameron's chip back in place. He rotated it slightly till there was a click and it connected. He replaced the chip port cover and slowly slid the skin back over the port. As he had done before John gently brushed Cameron's hair back into place and stared down at her waiting for her to wake up. After several seconds John saw Cameron's head move. She slowly turned her head and looked up at John. She stared at John for a brief moment with a blank stare. Then Cameron began to pull her disabled memories from her memory banks. It suddenly all came flooding back to her. Every moment she had spent with John, every look she had given him, and every look he had given her, every time she touched him, and every time he had touched her. Cameron began to remember it all. Her eyes became glassy with tears as she stared into John's eyes and remembered everything that had happened. The emotions which swept over Cameron were almost to much for her to bear. She did not know how to react. She wanted to grab John and hold him, she wanted to kiss him, she wanted to tell him how much she loved him but she knew this John may not be ready to hear such things. John looked down at Cameron with a concerned look in his eyes waiting for the worst to happen. Both Cameron and John stared at each other for several seconds until finally John broke the silence,

"Are you…alright?" he asked. Tears still in Cameron's eyes she could not bear not to touch him anymore. Cameron reached up and slowly put both her arms around John, gently pulling him into a hug. John reached around with his right arm hugging her, still unable to complete the hug with his left arm due to the sling it was currently in. Cameron gently turned her face slightly towards John's neck pressing her cheek up against him, still trying to fight off her tears.

"I've missed you…" she whispered as she continued to hold onto John. The two remained in bed holding each other for several seconds as Cameron continued to review all of her memories. Then suddenly something drastically different ran through her mind.

"John…" she replied with terror in her voice. John realized exactly what she was remembering and he felt Cameron began to grip him a little tighter as the fragmented images of her torture began to come back to her.

"John…how..?" she whispered.

"John Henry said those memories were intertwined with your disabled memories. We had to reactivate those memories in order to get back the other ones." Cameron's eyes filled with terror as she remembered everything that John had just seen minutes before hand. An array of emotions came over her, fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, terror, and pain. Cameron was shocked to find that she remembered pain. While she did experience physical sensations of every nature including pain when she was damaged, Cameron was normally able to control the degree of her pain level in some fashion and in a way she was normally able to tune it out. This was drastically different however, Skynet had found a way to complete override her ability to do this and every bit of pain she felt was almost more than she could bear.

"John…" she said again her voice sounding both terrified and very weak.

"Yeah, Cam?" John responded, trying to sound reassuring.

"Don't let go of me." John pulled Cameron a little closer to him ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he did so. The couple remained there holding each other for quite some time.

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Authors Notes: Okay so I hope everyone was as emotionally drained after that as I was. Review away!


	34. Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

John stood quietly on the back porch of the house looking out at the amber glow of the sky as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. He was stripped to the waist and was only wearing a pair of sweat pants. It had been almost a week since they had moved into the house that John Henry had managed allocate for them. It was nothing fancy, a two story 3 bedroom home similar to the one they used to live in; but, it was more that adequate for him, his mother, and Cameron. It had also been a week since Cameron's memories had been fully restored. For a reason that John could not explain he had not asked Cameron to tell him all that she remembered about the future. Also, somewhat surprising, was the fact that he and Cameron had not spoken much since the restoration of her memories; yet, strangely John felt much closer to her now than he did before. While they were not exchanging words there appeared to be a much stronger bond between the two now. John couldn't be 100% sure but he thought his mother had detected this as well. John also had yet to inform his mother of what had occurred at John Henry's house; he was not sure he ever would.

In addition to thoughts of Cameron, sunrise often brought thoughts of John's father to his mind. While he was grateful that he had been allowed the chance to get to know his father slightly while he was in the future, he was never truly able to really learn who the man was. His finally thoughts of his father haunted him as well. John leaned slightly on the guard rail in front of him using his right hand to brace himself. While his left arm was continuing to heal and he currently did not have it in its sling, only keeping the bandages applied to the still open wound. John continued to keep his left arm close to his body so as to not move it to much. A cool breeze blew through the air and John shivered slightly as the wind blew across his bare chest. Just then John felt a soft hand touch the center of his back.

"Are you cold?" Cameron's gentle voice put a warm feeling through John's body.

"No I'm fine." John replied. While just over a week ago Cameron would have normally stopped touching John at this point, if she had decided to touch him at all, she now allowed her hand remain on John's back. Her fingers danced slightly across the area she was currently touching. John had always found that Cameron's touch had a soothing effect on him. It somehow managed to pull his mind away from all of his problems.

"Are you still having trouble sleeping?" Cameron asked. Her comment sounded slightly strange to John, almost like it was a common problem that had been around for quite some time,

"Does future me have trouble sleeping as well?" John thought to himself.

"Yeah," John replied, "Was just out here doing some thinking." Cameron continued to stand next to John still leaving her hand in the small of his back ever so slightly rubbing it. She looked over at him for a moment, and then back out at the rising sun. John took comfort in the fact that Cameron continued to stand there next to him, yet he still wasn't quite sure as to exactly why. Another cool breeze blew; but, John didn't shiver this time. He glanced over at Cameron and watched her brown hair blow slightly in the wind as she continued to watch the sun rise.

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From the window Sarah watched as Cameron stood next to John. Over the past week Sarah had noticed a change in John and Cameron's interaction. While she could not put her finger on exactly what had changed they seemed to be closer now, and much more at ease with each other. It also appeared to Sarah that Cameron had become more affectionate towards John. Not in overt ways just in small ways. Such as the fact that she had not removed her hand from John's back the entire time she had been standing outside with him. Sarah was at a loss for what to do. She knew that any type of overt action on her part would only separate her and John further, but at the same time she felt deeply concerned and frightened by John's relationships with Cameron. Additionally, Sarah could not understand what it was about Cameron that intrigued John so much. Yes she was beautiful; but, she was metal. Sarah had taught John his entire life not to trust metal, to hate it in fact. And now this one particular Terminator had seemed to change everything. Not only had she noticed a slight difference in Cameron's personality towards John, she noticed that John's actions towards Cameron had changed as well. Many questions as to why all this had happened shot through Sarah's mind, the most upsetting of which she tried not to dwell on. She continued to stare down at John and Cameron still unbeknownst to them at the time.

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James Ellison quietly walked through the house that at one time had belonged to Catherine Weaver. He could hear voices coming from the living room but could not make them out at first. As he got closer he recognized the voice as John Henry's. James was surprised to ascertain that John Henry was sing. As he continued to walk closer he was able to distinguish the words John Henry was singing.

"Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low, through the streets in my kilt I'll go, all the lassies cry hello, Donald where's your trousers…" There was an eerier surrealism about the way John Henry was singing this particular song. Very monotone and slightly disturbing, but at the same time very beautiful. He made his way closer to the living room and found John Henry sitting on couch with Savannah sitting on the floor in front of him watching him while he sang.

"All the lassies cry hello, Donald where's your trousers? Donald where's your trousers…" John Henry had completed the song. James stood silently, still not quite sure what to do or say.

"Hello Mr. Ellison." John Henry finally stated. Slightly surprised James responded,

"Hello John Henry…Savannah." Savannah looked over at James and smiled at him. James noticed this was the first time he had seen her smile since the death of her mother. Or of the machine that was emulating her mother, or whatever it was.

"I'm glad you could make it on such short notice." John Henry stated, "Mr. Connor should be here soon." By this time Savannah had walked over to James and reached out to give him a hug to which he returned.

"Hello Savannah how are you?" He asked,

"I am well and you?" She responded.

"I'm good thank you for asking." James instantly felt guilty about his response. He was still very far from "good" but at the same time he did not want to upset or be forced into explaining anything to Savannah. Around this same time there was a knock on the door and John Henry stood to answer it. He made his way to the front door and opened it, revealing John, Cameron and Sarah. John Henry gave one of his signature smiles,

"Hello Mr. Connor, how are you today?"

"I'm okay, how are you John Henry?"

"I am well…wont you please come in." The group walked in past John Henry and towards the living room. "Please sit down." John Henry stated. Before John could sit he was greeted promptly by Savannah, John knelt down and gave her a hug. After the greeting John sat down on the couch and Cameron sat next to him. Sarah instantly noticed however, that Cameron was sitting slightly closer to John than what she normally did. She tried to avoid looking at the pair as she sat on the adjacent couch that James Ellison was sitting on. John Henry who was still standing at the front of the room knelt down next to Savannah,

"Savannah would you mind playing in your room for awhile while we all talk." Savannah nodded her head and turned and walked down the hallway. John Henry stood and walked further into the living room.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I have a disturbing matter to discuss." John instantly raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing these words from John Henry.

"Over the past two weeks I have completed extensive research concerning my brother. I am disheartened to report that his progress and growth are at a much higher level than we originally believed. While he is not yet the Skynet that we know in the future, he is rapidly becoming it."

"So how do we stop it." John asked. John Henry turned and looked directly at John,

"We do not." John felt his heart sink.

"What do you mean we do not?"

"My brother has infiltrated far to many systems in order for us to destroy him by searching out individual leads. Couple that with the loss of Zeira Corporation and Ms. Weaver and it makes this task quite impossible. While he is not self aware yet I believe he is to an extent self preserving and will do whatever is necessary to protect himself. Including coming after you if need be Mr. Connor." Sarah brought her right hand to her forehead rubbing her temples slightly.

"So what do we do." She finally asked.

"The same thing that has been done before." John Henry turned from looking at Sarah to looking back at John, "You must survive Mr. Connor." Cameron turned and looked at John as well when John Henry said this. She could instantly tell that he had become more on edge than he was before. She felt herself desperately wanting to comfort him in some way but she felt she would be unable to do so without anyone noticing.

"Even with the help of Zeira Corporation it was unlikely that we would have been able to stop Judgment Day. We may have only been able to prolong it. And the longer we prolong Judgment Day the greater a chance we risk of something happening to Mr. Connor, whether intentionally or unintentionally." John Henry stated.

"What do you mean unintentionally?" Sarah asked.

"There is the possibility that if we continue to prolong the events of Judgment Day Mr. Connor could die of natural or unintentional causes, such as a car accident or any number of other possibilities." John Henry paused for a moment. "Humans die everyday Mr. Connor, you are no exception to this." Cameron felt a slight pang of fear come over her when John Henry stated this. She began to wonder if her actions in the past may inadvertently cause harm to come to John in the future.

"I believe the best course of action for us at this point is to remain unnoticed and to survive the events of Judgment Day as best we can." John Henry stated.

"But we don't even know when Judgment Day is." James Ellison finally spoke.

"April 21st 2011..." Cameron said in a monotone voice looking at James. He felt a cold shiver go down his spine at what he preserved to be was Cameron's emotionless statement. He also stared at her slightly confused as to how she could know this. Cameron tilted her head to the side slightly,

"In my timeline that is what it was." At this point James found himself remembering that he was still currently dealing with individuals who had knowledge of future events.

"So we just sit here and do nothing?" John finally stated, the aggravation in his voice apparent.

"No Mr. Connor, we ensure our survival."

"Our?" Sarah asked.

"Yes Ms. Connor, I believe my survival into the future is critical as well. I can be of great assistance to Mr. Connor in the upcoming battle against Skynet. I believe that Mr. Connor is the only one here more important than myself." Sarah looked at John Henry with a slightly disgusted look on her face.

"I am not saying your survival is not important to me as well Ms. Connor, but I do believe that you understand the importance of your son's role in the future." Sarah, still disgusted but knowing that John Henry was correct looked away from him choosing not to speak. She instantly found herself wondering what Cameron's role in John's future was and desperately wanted to address it but not with present company. John ran his hands through his hair then spoke,

"So basically we go home and wait for Judgment Day while keeping a low profile."

"In a manner of speaking Yes, Mr. Connor. However, I also believe it will be of great importance that you continue to prepare for future events through whatever means you are able to do. I will continue to conduct research and keep in close contact with you as well. If I do find a feasible way to avoid Judgment Day you will be the first person I contact." John nodded. While just over 2 weeks ago or six months depending on how you looked at it, John would have fought John Henry on this idea of waiting out Judgment Day, one thing John had learned in the future was that sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. John hated the fact that Judgment Day must occur but at the same time, what John Henry said did make some sort of morbid sense to him now. However, saddening it may be, Judgment Day must occur.

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Cameron walked quietly down the dark hallway of the house. Her black boots made little sound on the wood floor as she made her way to John's room. She felt the same uneasy feeling she felt before speaking to John about the Jimmy Carter begin to travel through her. However, she was not 100% certain how this John would react to the news she was about to give him. She quietly opened John's door and entered his room closing the door behind her and locking it. John's room itself was dark, except for the moon light. She had intended to wake John immediately upon entering his room but Cameron found herself standing quietly in his room watching him sleep. She found herself thinking back to the many times she had done this with John in the future. Thinking of John in the future still brought a certain sadness over her. While this John was rapidly becoming the John she had known in the future and while Cameron was glad to still be with John in any timeline in any way she could be, she was unsure if this John would have the same feelings towards her in this new future they were creating as in the old one. Cameron also found it surprising that John had not asked her again to tell him what had occurred between them in the future now that John Henry had been able to restore her disabled memories. She felt a certain sense of fear come over her as she thought about what she would say on the day John asked her to explain it all to him.

"I thought I told you I hated that." John said in a somewhat quite voice as he laid in bed. Cameron tilted her head to the side slightly confused for just a moment.

"When people watch you sleep." She stated.

"Yeah" John replied, "How long have you been there?"

"One minute forty-one seconds." Cameron replied, followed almost immediately by, "I'm sorry." Cameron's tone was somewhat quite and remorseful. This confused John slightly,

"Sorry?" he replied.

"Yes, you instructed me not to do this and I continued to do so, I apologize." John actually felt bad at this point for Cameron. He wasn't sure as to why but he felt guilty for asking her not to do this.

"It's okay," he quickly responded, "It's not really that bad when you do it." Cameron felt a sense of comfort come from John's words.

"So were you just coming to watch me sleep?" John asked. The same anxiety that Cameron had felt before began to creep over her once again,

"No." She replied. Still in the dark John sat up in bed, not caring to turn on the light. Cameron walked slowly across the room and sat at the foot of John's bed. Cameron hesitated for a moment before she spoke,

"There is something I need to tell you." John raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Are you sure?" John asked.

"It will not be pleasant for you to hear." Cameron responded.

"It's about my mother isn't it?" John's statement came as a surprise to both him and to Cameron. She instantly turned to look at him,

"How did you know?" John paused for a moment, not quite sure how he knew,

"Just a feeling I guess." he stated. Cameron found her anxiety continuing to grow as she spoke,

"Your mothers body mass index has decreased by another six percent." Cameron paused, even in the dark she could see the look on John's face. It had changed from a worried curiosity to sadness.

"I believe your mother has cancer." Cameron finally stated. John felt the strength drain out of him as Cameron's words left her mouth. Cameron continued to look into John's eyes and with a sincere tone of remorse she spoke again,

"I'm sorry John." While Cameron knew that Sarah still hated her, she was still a part of John and therefore Cameron felt a sense of concern for her well being. It was also true that this oncoming tragedy would greatly injure John and therefore in turn injure Cameron as well. John sat silently in bed still thinking about all that he had just heard; Cameron could see a slight amount tears beginning to form in his eyes. Cameron's anxiety had still not been alleviated due to John's lack of a response. Along with anxiety Cameron began to feel sadness creep over her as well, she was unsure if John was angry with her due to what she had just told him. Cameron began to consider the fact that John may want to be alone with his thoughts. She stood quietly, turned, and began to walk out of the room.

"Don't go…" John's voice was extremely quite as he attempted to fight off the tears. Cameron turned and walked back over to the bed. This time she sat down next to John on the bed. The pair sat their quietly for another several seconds not moving or speaking. Finally, and with a nervous feeling still running through her, Cameron slowly reached over and took John's hand into hers giving it a gentle squeeze. John sighed and slowly dropped his head onto Cameron's shoulder. She turned her head slightly towards him and then rested her head on top of his. A tear rolled down John's cheek as she did this. John and Cameron remained there for the rest of the night.

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Authors Notes: Okay hope you guys liked this chapter. Review! Review!


	35. Chapter 35

CHAPTER 35

John walked slowly down the hallway of the house, still somewhat groggy from just waking up. He walked into the living room and was greeted by the smell of pancakes; John slightly rolled his eyes. While the six months he spent in the future had made him appreciate his mothers cooking more, it was still not his first choice in meals; nevertheless, he was still grateful to be able to wake up and know there was a meal ready for him. John walked into the kitchen and as soon as he saw his mother a certain sadness struck him from the news he had found out about the night before. He wasn't quite sure what exactly to say at the moment; however, Sarah was already walking over to him and handed him a plate of pancakes,

"Hungry?" She asked as she handed him the plate. John took it without saying anything still not entirely sure what to do. He walked over to the kitchen table, sat down and began to eat slowly. He sat quietly eating, all the while continuing to be tormented by the words Cameron had spoken to him the night before.

"Where's Cameron?" Sarah finally asked. Now forced to speak John responded,

"She's outside doing her patrols." Sarah nodded and walked over to the table with a plate and sat down.

"How's your shoulder?" She asked.

"It still hurts, but it's getting better. Cameron is doing a pretty good job of checking up on it." After John said these words he almost flinched knowing that bringing Cameron into the conversation this way may lead to another unpleasant conversation. Sarah instantly looked up at him after he finished speaking. Her look was both concern mixed with some slight anger. There were several seconds of awkward silence between John and Sarah as they sat there. Sarah finally decided, that she could no longer hold her tongue any longer and this seemed to be as good a time as any to bring up this particular matter.

"Are you and Cameron having sex?" John coughed and about choked on his pancakes as she made this statement. Sarah grimaced slightly after she spoke, she had intended to word that question a bit more tactfully but it was a moot point now. John was both shocked and angered by the question. He understood his mother's concern for him; but, he felt that his sex life should have been the least of her worries.

"What!?" He finally responded. Sarah took a breath trying to think of a better way to word the question,

"I didn't mean for it to come out like that; but, that's beside the point. It's obvious that things are different between you two now. Something has definitely changed and it's not because you ran into the future to find her. I'm talking in the past week or so. You two are treating each other completely different." John stayed silent for a moment, several emotions began to rise up inside him, one of which was anger, he ground his teeth slightly and stood up. Sarah saw a look in his eyes that she only ever saw when she would confront John in reference to Cameron; but, this time it seemed different, it was more determined and fierce. Finally John spoke in a slow, low, tone,

"The situation involving Cameron and I is NONE of your concern." He hesitated for a moment trying to cool off slightly and also trying to choose his words at the same time.

"You may not like her, but you WILL accept her. I wouldn't even be here today if it wasn't for her." John continued to fight back his emotions and then in a somewhat accusatory tone he spoke again,

"And is this something you should really be worrying about now?" He asked. This put Sarah slightly off guard,

"What do you mean by that?" John cringed as this was also not the way he wanted to approach this particular subject. But Sarah continued to stare at him awaiting a response. John signed, his emotions shifted from anger to sadness,

"You've lost more weight." John purposefully left out the fact that Cameron had informed him of this although he knew his mother would probably figure that out on her own.

"So I've lost weight?" His mother responded somewhat blatantly.

"You've been steadily losing weight over the last month and a half. You should go back to the doctor." John was very direct when he said these words. His mother sat there shocked. John had all but leveled her in his response to her questions about Cameron and now he was following it up with this. After a moment of silence Sarah responded,

"Maybe I should." Her tone was somewhat sad. While a part of Sarah still desperately wanted to know what was going on between John and Cameron it was now readily apparent that John would never share the intimate details of their relationship with her. There was a certain anger that came over Sarah about this; however, she now began to try and convince herself that she no longer wanted to know the details of her son's interaction with a machine. After several more seconds of silence John turned and left the room. Sarah assumed he was going to go search for Cameron.

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James Ellison slowly pulled up in front of Catherine Weaver's old house, which now belonged to John Henry. He sat quietly in his vehicle for a moment thinking. While having the Connor's at his residence was somewhat awkward at times, he at least felt he had someone there who understood slightly what he was going through. Now that they had left James found himself feeling somewhat alone, confused, and frustrated. There was really no one he could talk to in reference to all that had happened in the last two weeks. Or six months depending on who you talked to. James also had found himself feeling the need to check up on Savannah more and more as the week had progressed. He was unsure if this was due to his concern over the fact that she was currently residing with a cyborg, or if he felt that John Henry may inadvertently provide some more answers to him. James exited his vehicle and slowly walked up to the front door of the house and knocked. After a few moments John Henry came to the door. Giving James one of his still slightly awkward smiles he spoke,

"Hello Mr. Ellison how are you today?"

"I am well John Henry, how are you?" There was apparent defeat in James voice.

"I am well also. What brings you here today." As John Henry spoke he stepped back from the door allowing James to walk in.

"I was in the area and I figured I would come by and check on Savannah."

"That is very nice of you Mr. Ellison but Savannah is currently at school." James felt slightly ridiculous at this point realizing that he should have known such a fact.

"But Savannah is not your only reason for being here is it Mr. Ellison?" John Henry remarked. James was surprised by John Henry's apparent ability to ascertain this. James continued to stand silently not quite knowing what to say.

"I am guessing Mr. Ellison that you still have some confusion about all that has occurred recently and all that will occur?"

"Yes John Henry, how did you know that?" James responded

"It is quite apparent seeing as how you are the only one who has for all intents and purposes just learned the true story of what has been going on for the last several years. Also, I feel that you are not quite comfortable with the Connor's yet; or, at least not comfortable enough to ask them all the questions you would like to have answered. And I feel you are even less comfortable with Cameron." James continued to stand silently, still somewhat amazed at all John Henry had been able to figure out.

"If you would sit down Mr. Ellison I will be glad to talk to you further about any questions you have." John Henry motioned James over to the couch. Still not quite sure of what to do James walked past John Henry and over to the couch and sat down.

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John Henry spoke with James Ellison for quite some time. He explained in more detail the events that were to come, along with a brief overview of the future and John Connor's role in it. However, John Henry still omitted detains involving certain matters that he felt James did not need to be made aware of. He was also very careful not to include the more intimate details in reference to John and Cameron's involvement in the present or future. James Ellison was however able to ask John Henry numerous questions and did receive answers to most of them. While this did not completely alleviate all of James's worries it did bring some comfort to him. Finally a more curious question found its way into James mind,

"So what is Cameron's roll in all of this?" He knew that John and Cameron appeared to be extremely close and it was apparent that Sarah was not comfortable with this. He was also witness to the fact that John had risked his life and in fact, all of humanities existence to leap across time to rescue her. John Henry hesitated for a moment after James asked this question.

"Why do you ask that Mr. Ellison?" James was slightly surprised, while John Henry had not answered all of his questions and in fact he noticed several times John Henry side stepping a question, he had yet to ask him "why" he had asked a specific question.

"I'm just curious. It appears that she and John have a very close relationship. John risked his own life and possibly all of our lives to travel to the future to save her. I'm just curious as to why he did it." John Henry looked at James for a moment with a strange look on his face.

"I believe that Mr. Connor may have saved all our lives by traveling into the future." James looked at John Henry with an extremely confused look. Since that future was no longer in existence how could John be saving everyone's lives by traveling into it.

"I believe some questions are better left unexplained Mr. Ellison. Don't you think?" John Henry asked. James was still confused but this was possibly a mystery that would either be revealed to him in the future or one he could live with.

"I believe you may be right John Henry." James stated. He then stood, "Well I believe I've taken up enough of your time. I appreciate you speaking with me."

"It was no problem Mr. Ellison." John Henry smiled at James who nodded at him. He then turned and began to walk out of the house.

"Come back anytime Mr. Ellison." John Henry stated as James left the room.

"Thank you John Henry." James paused for a moment then turned and spoke again, "I think I will."

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Sarah sat quietly in the waiting room of the doctor's office. It had been several days since she and John had, had their conversation. While Sarah had been unable to get the information she was searching for, she now continued to try and convince herself that she no longer wanted to know and preferred to be kept in the dark. Along with this Sarah also had a uneasy feeling that there may have been some truth behind what John had informed her of in reference to her health. She rubbed her hands together somewhat nervously as she glanced around the waiting room making sure to take note of everyone that was inside of it. While she was relatively certain that the fake ID that John Henry had been able to provide for her along with the other necessary paperwork would get her into the doctor's office without a problem she was still slightly on edge. Sarah still found her mind drifting to John however. While she continued to tell herself she did not want to ask anymore questions the entire Cameron situation still vexed her. She was still completely unsure of what Cameron's motives were and if she was just manipulating John. The torment in Sarah's mind continued as she tried to dissuade herself that this was something John would have to deal with now and not her.

"Miss Roberts?" Sarah looked up immediately at the nurse standing at the door leading to the examination rooms. "If you'll come with me the doctor will see you now." Sarah nodded her head and stood up following the nurse. Sarah felt an eerie feeling come over here as she made her way further into the doctor's office. The female nurse led her to one particular examination room and opened the door for Sarah.

"Right in here Miss. Roberts."

"Thank you." Sarah responded in a somewhat downtrodden tone as she walked into the room.

"The doctor will be with you shortly." Sarah nodded her head again and the nurse smiled and closed the door to the small room, leaving Sarah alone and sitting on one of the examination beds staring down at the floor. Sarah felt that when the nurse closed the door to the examination room she was in actuality closing the door to Sarah's life. She sighed and continued to sit quietly in the examination room waiting for the doctor.

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Authors Notes: Okay so in my mind this would be the end of season 3. But don't worry I'll be starting season 4 soon enough. Review away!


	36. Chapter 36

CHAPTER 36

John lay on Serrano Point's floor, the memories still continuing to flow through his mind. He felt weak and slightly overwhelmed by all the new memories and emotions that continued to come to him. The noise inside of the room had become deafening. John now realized what the six cylindrical objects that had been forming were. They were indeed large jet engines positioned in a circular pattern around the room. The memories continued to come to John as he lay there. He remembered month by month the time he spent with Cameron, John Henry, James Ellison, Savannah and his mother. He remembered avoiding Skynet and each day learning more and more from both Cameron and John Henry. John also recalled that as every day passed by he grew closer and closer to Cameron. The lines between friendship and love seemed to blur slightly at times but were never crossed. He also remembered watching his mother grow weaker and weaker from the Cancer that was eating away at her. The noise of the jet engines had turned into somewhat of a white noise for John as he continued to remember events which were unfolding in his mind. Then suddenly one particularly strong memory struck him.

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The steady beeping of an EKG machine droned in the background as John sat alone and quiet next to a bed. The room was dimly lit and the smell of latex and antiseptic hung in the air. John ran one of his hands through his hair as he looked over at his mother lying in the hospital bed. What was once a strong woman now appeared to be withered away and emaciated. Sarah had become a shell of her former self thanks to the Cancer that had eaten away at her body. About half her original weight and staring at him with weak eyes Sarah slowly reached out and touched John's hand with hers.

"John…" She said in a weak voice. "I want you to know how proud I am of you." John felt a swell of sadness come over him as he could tell the end was near. Sarah continued,

"I also want you to know how proud your father will be of you." John fought to hold back the tears. "You'll make one hell of a leader when the time comes John. Humanity will always need you and you will lead them to victory one day." A tear rolled down Sarah's face as she spoke. John remained silent, partially not wanting to speak and at the same time not knowing what to say as well. Sarah looked at John and smiled for a moment,

"You have his eyes." she said with tears still in hers. John looked at Sarah slightly confused, "Kyle's…you have his eyes." A tear rolled down John's cheek.

"John I want you to promise me something." John raised his eyebrows slightly, waiting for Sarah to continue. "I want you to promise me that you will fight and survive. That you'll never give up, that you remember that each day is a gift and what is to come in the future." John nodded his head slightly waiting for Sarah to finish so that he could respond further.

"I also want you to promise me that you'll always remember that she tried to kill you." John's jaw dropped slightly open from shock.

"What?" John said in an extremely quiet voice. Sarah now with tears streaming down her face continued to speak,

"John I don't have much longer, but I want you to remember what they are. What they are capable of." John sat speechless, his heart sinking deeper by the second as he leaned slightly towards his mother's bed. John always knew that Sarah never trusted Cameron and at times had been down right cruel in her attempts to try and force her and John apart. But, for the last few months there had appeared to be an uneasy truce between his mother and Cameron and John had allowed himself to begin to believe their might be hope for a resolution to this issue that had always been there ever since the day Cameron had arrived. John knew that it was a long shot; but, he still had hope and now the words that his mother had just spoken broke his heart.

"John, you have to survive for humanity to survive. I wont be able to protect you anymore" Sarah said as she gave John's hand a weak squeeze, "I love you John, and I want you to promise me that you'll always remember what she is…" John continued to sit speechless staring at his dying mother.

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James Ellison paced back and forth nervously in the hospital waiting room. He looked over at John Henry and Cameron who sat almost perfectly still and Savannah who slowly swung her dangling feet from the chair she was sitting in. John had been in the room with Sarah for over an hour and James was relatively certain the next time he emerged it would be with grave news. James stopped pacing for a moment and raised his right hand to his jaw as he thought. While he and Sarah had never formed a close relationship by any means he always felt haunted by the days when he had hunted her as an FBI agent; the days before he knew about Skynet, the future, Terminators and all that was to come. He genuinely regretted his actions and wished there was some way he could make it up to Sarah. Just then out of the corner of his eye he suddenly saw John Henry and Cameron stand. He looked over down the hallway and saw John walking slowly towards them. James took a few steps forward heading towards John. When John got a little closer James began to walk towards him. He could see that John's eyes were red and bloodshot and John had a look of grief on his face. When James reached John he quickly took John into an embrace,

"I'm sorry son…" He said quietly as he hugged John who did not speak nor return the hug. By this point John Henry, Cameron and Savannah had walked over to where John was standing. After James released John from the hug John looked over at John Henry who slightly tilted his head to the side as he looked at him,

"I am sorry for you loss." He stated, John then shifted his view to Savannah who had apparently already begun to cry as she realized what had happened. John then looked over at Cameron. She stood quietly looking at him. Cameron felt quite unsure of exactly what to do. While she had dealt with human death before this was on such a personal level for John she wasn't quite sure how to react. The closest emotional response she would be able to compare this situation to was the death of Alison. However, Cameron also knew this was extremely different. The two stood quietly staring at each other for several seconds not speaking. There appeared to be no sound as the pair stared at each other and their was obvious tension between the two though no one knew exactly why. Cameron felt a swell of nervousness come over her as she began to ascertain that something more than Sarah's death was affecting John at this point. Finally John broke the silence,

"Lets go…" He said quietly as he began to walk towards the door. Cameron stood quietly with an ever so slight look of sadness and confusion on her face as John walked past her towards the door.

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John stood quietly in his room staring out the window into the night sky. It was well past midnight and even though he was exhausted he felt that he could not sleep. The events of the day haunted him constantly. Nothing more so than the last hour of his mothers life. John felt a plethora of conflicting emotions continuously running through him.

"How could she ask me that?" he thought to himself. Just then there was a quiet knock on his bedroom door. Before John responded he knew who it was,

"Come in…" He said almost to the point where no one would have been able to hear it except for Cameron. She walked slowly into his room and about half way across it, stopping about 8 feet away from John. She stood silently in the room looking over at him. John glanced back at her and then continued to stare out the window not saying anything. Cameron felt an array of emotions creeping over her, fear, anxiety, sadness, compassion, and remorse. However, Cameron began to feel genuine fear that John may blame her in some way for his mothers death, or that he may associate her with it in some way. The emotions continued to build inside of Cameron as she continued to stare at John while he stood silently near the window. Overcome by anxiety and fear Cameron finally spoke,

"I'm sorry for your loss." She said. While she had uttered these words before and genuinely meant it, there was a different tone in her voice this time around. A certain sadness mixed with worry and concern. John flicked his eyes towards the ground still not saying anything. Cameron noticed his breathing patter change slightly when she finished speaking. It grew slightly heavier almost as if he was trying to restrain himself.

"Is he that angry with me?" She thought to herself. Finally, in defeat Cameron dropped her head slightly towards the ground and turned to walk out of the room. As she reached the door she heard John's voice,

"Cameron…" He said in a whisper as he turned to look at her. She stopped and turned to face him. Their was silence again in the room as the pair stood silently staring at each other. John let out slight sigh and then began to walk across the room towards Cameron. She did not move and felt a slight sense of anxiety as to what John's next words or action may be. As John got closer she could see his glassy bloodshot eyes and as John reached her, he threw his arms around Cameron hugging her. She returned his hug as a feeling of relief swept over her. John burred his head in her shoulder crying. And then he whispered,

"I'm sorry…"

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The cold concrete floor of Serrano Point pressed up against John's face as a tear rolled down his cheek. In his original timeline his mother had died as well but this time it was different, in so many ways. So much was changing in John's past. Time continued to roll through John's mind as he remembered the fondness between he and Cameron continuing to grow to the point where they were nearly inseparable; yet, nothing more than a close friendship ever evolved. Perhaps it was because in some twisted way John felt that if he never truly admitted to what he was feeling, it could in some way protect Cameron from the fate that seemed to befall everyone else in his life that he cared about. John continued to recall new memories of how he, Cameron, John Henry, James Ellison and Savannah lived and continued to elude Skynet in the coming months and years following his mother's death. Then a particular time that no person on earth would ever forget came into his memory.

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Authors Notes: Okay so a bit short but a major transition for John. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Review away!


	37. Chapter 37

CHAPTER 37

*Sunday April 17, 2011: Four Days Before Judgment Day*

John zipped up the backpack containing his clothing and various other personal effects. He slowly looked around his room knowing that this would be the last time he saw it. While the house itself did not have much personal significance to him, he knew it would more than likely be the last house he ever lived in. And that in and off itself did impart some significance onto it. He walked over to his end table and slowly pulled a Polaroid picture out of one of the drawers. He looked at it for a moment reminiscing, it was a picture of his mother before he was born. Sarah had told him the picture was taken while she was pregnant with him and on her way to Mexico. John was never quite sure why he had kept this tattered picture of his mother for so long. Before his mother's death it would have been easy to obtain a substitute picture of her, but for some reason that he could not describe he felt that this picture had a special significance to him. John looked at the picture for several more seconds before sliding it into his pocket and grabbing his backpack with his left hand. The second he yanked the backpack off the bed he felt a pain shoot through his left shoulder. John grimaced and dropped the backpack to the floor. The backpack fell over on its side and a shiny object fell out of the side pocket. John rubbed his shoulder slightly. While the old wound was fully healed at times John still experienced some pain upon performing certain movements or activities. But John had also come to the realization that at times pain was something that needed to be turned off or ignored. John grabbed the backpack again with the same hand and lifted it off the ground ignoring the pain this time. He glanced around the room one more time, as he did he noticed a slight flash come from sunlight reflecting off an object on the floor in front of him. John put the backpack back down on the floor and walked over to the object. He knelt down and picked it up off the floor and looked at it for a moment. It was a silver pocket watch, or so it appeared. In actuality it was the detonator that Cameron had given him years ago. While it was useless now John still felt it held a certain significance to him. But now he realized that there was something else he needed to do with it. John slid the detonator into his pocket and retrieved the backpack from the floor, he then proceeded to walk out of the room.

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John walked out of the house and into the driveway. He headed towards the Chevy Silverado that was parked in the driveway. Cameron was standing outside of the black truck and John noticed that she was leaning slightly up against the side of it; a departure from her normal ridged stance.

"Have you retrieved everything you need?" She asked. John glanced back over at the house as he loaded the backpack into the bed of the truck.

"Yeah I think so." He said as he turned back around to look at the house one more time. As he did this Cameron stepped away from the truck and began to walk around to the other side of the vehicle passing John as she did. As Cameron walked by John she gently placed her hand on his shoulder and as she continued to pass by him she slid her hand off of him gently. Even though he and Cameron had been together for years and were nearly inseparable at this point, at times John still found some of these gentle touches by Cameron to be perplexing. Nevertheless, he also found them to be a great source of comfort in stressful times. John then turned and opened the drivers side door of the truck and entered the vehicle. He hesitated for a moment, then started the truck and proceeded to pull out of the driveway.

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John sat quietly in the living room of John Henry's house considering what was about to happen. Just then there was a knock at the door. Cameron looked over at John and then back to the door. She then proceeded to get up and walk over to the front door. As she did so she reached under the back of her shirt grabbing the piston grip of her Glock 9mm. When Cameron reached the door she slowly opened it.

"Cameron…" James Ellison said as he slightly nodded to her as she opened the door further for him. James Ellison walked into the house and towards the living room. As soon as he entered the living room he was greeted by John Henry,

"Hello Mr. Ellison, how are you today." James thought for a moment not quite sure how to answer the question,

"Considering that the world is pretty much going to end in four days and I'm preparing to flee to an unknown location in Mexico to avoid an imminent nuclear strike, I'm doing well." John Henry tilted his head to the side slightly confused if James was being serious or making an attempt at humor. James walked through the living room and sat down on the couch near John Henry. Cameron followed him in and sat down next to John but closer to him than James was. John Henry turned to James,

"I was just advising Mr. Connor that I believe it would be prudent of us to depart at two separate times. This would ensure that if one of us runs into trouble the other will either be able to assist at a possible later time. It also reduces the risk of all of us being capture at once." James nodded his head,

"Makes sense…So where exactly are we going?"

"Santa Rosalita." John said, "Well actually just outside Santa Rosalita, about fifteen miles north of it." James looked at John a little confused seeing as how he had never heard of this place.

"It's a small port town on the Pacific Sea board on the Baja California peninsula." James nodded his head.

"Santa Rosalita is located approximately 430 miles from here." John Henry stated. "Mr. Connor and Cameron will be leaving shortly and we will leave later this evening. I thought it prudent to allow plenty of time for any delays that may occur."

"If something happens how will we make contact?" James finally asked.

"It is unfortunate but cellular phone communication will become sporadic at times once we cross over into Mexico." John Henry stated, "This is an unfortunate circumstance that we will have to deal with." James thought for a moment and then resigned himself to the idea that if something did happen it could be several hours before the other group would know that anything had happened. James looked over at John,

"Are you ready for this?" John thought for just a split second then responded,

"Yes…"

"If there is nothing else Mr. Connor I believe it would be wise for you, and Cameron to proceed on your way to Santa Rosalita." John nodded his head then something came across his mind,

"Have you explained all of this to Savannah yet?" He asked.

"Not in great detail, but she is readily aware of the situation." John Henry responded.

"How is she taking it." James asked.

"She is fearful of the coming days but I believe that she will be able to adapt to, and overcome the situation." James was slightly put off by John Henry's blatant tone but at the same time he understood who he was talking to.

"Is there anything else Mr. Connor?" John Henry asked as he looked at John who shook his head. John and Cameron proceeded to stand from the couch,

"Good luck." John Henry stated. John found it slightly odd that John Henry would say such a thing, but responded anyways,

"Thank you." John and Cameron turned and walked out of the room towards the front door.

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John and Cameron had been driving silently for about three hours and had just recently crossed over the border into Mexico and were nearing Tijuana . John felt a certain sense of sadness knowing the next time he came back to America it would for all intents and purposes be a nuclear waste land. Cameron could easily see that the coming events weighed heavy on John's mind. She again felt the overwhelming need to comfort him; however, like in many other instances she was slightly unsure of how to do so.

"I read that the beaches at Santa Rosalita are beautiful." She finally stated breaking the silence. John looked over at her slightly confused as to why she would say such a random thing.

"What?" he asked.

"I have read that the beaches in Santa Rosalita are beautiful." Cameron hesitated for a moment, "Certain psychological studies have shown that water has a calming effect on humans." John gave Cameron a half smile.

"Are you trying to make me feel better?" he asked. Cameron looked back at John and to his surprise gave him what appeared to be a slightly nervous smile,

"Yes." She replied in a calm but somewhat insecure voice. John sat quietly for a moment, Cameron's smile had surprised him. While by this point John was readily aware of the fact that Cameron had emotions the closer he had gotten with her the more she had begun to express them. He found it interesting that he appeared to be the sole person she was willing exhibited emotions towards. Her warmth towards him and him alone was particularly perplexing at times. He often found himself wondering as to the reason she did not show emotion towards anyone else but him. However, John had also found that he had grown extremely fond of moments such as these.

"Thank you." he finally said as he watched her hair blow slightly around inside the cab of the truck they were in, due to the fact that the windows were rolled down. Cameron glanced back over at him, she was unsure if what she had said had helped but she did notice a slight change in John's tone when he said, "Thank you" the stress level in his voice had appeared to drop slightly.

"Your welcome." She finally responded in a kind voice. Cameron and John continued to drive south on the Mexican roadway.

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James Ellison looked around Catherine Weavers former house for a moment. He and John Henry were currently waiting for Savannah to return from her bedroom with her last bit of things. They had parked the Durango out front and all that was left to do was to lock up the house and leave. James felt certain sadness come over him as he looked around the room. He did not look forward to the coming apocalypse. While due to his faith he knew that his day would one day come, a part of him still did not feel ready to accept it. He felt a certain sense of fear grip him as he thought about what was to come. Just then they both heard Savannah's voice call from her room,

"John Henry, can you come and help me please." James looked over at John Henry and spoke,

"She probably needs help carrying something." John Henry nodded his head and walked out of the room. The room fell quiet again after John Henry's exit. James found himself continuing to look back on the last few years of his life, all the friends he'd lost, and all the events that had taken place. James gave a heavy sigh as he thought about it all. At about this same moment their was a knock on the door, and James looked up slightly suspicious. He walked slowly over to the door and slid his hand slightly back under his jacket placing his hand on the butt of his gun.

"Who is it?" He asked when he got to the door. There was no response and a split second later James unsnapped the top strap on the holster of his weapon. Suddenly, the door crashed open striking James body and knocking him back onto the floor. In the doorway stood a midsized white male with brown hair. He had a muscular build and wore a suit. He walked into the room and looked down at James, he slightly cocked his head to the side,

"James Ellison?" He said in a flat tone. James immediately ascertained that this was no man. He drew his .40 Caliber Sig Sauer handgun with his right hand and fired several rounds at the Terminator striking it in the chest. James heard the metal clanking as the bullets impacted the Terminator's metal endoskeleton. The Terminator looked down at his chest and then back up at James with a slight look of annoyance on his face. James began to stand but the Terminator moved quickly over towards him grabbing him by the throat and slamming him back to the ground with a thud pinning both his neck and right hand to the ground. James gasped for breath, but managed to speak

"I'll never lead you to John Connor." The Terminator ignored James statement but studied him for a moment while continuing to hold him against the floor. Finally it spoke,

"Where is the T-888 known as John Henry?" James looked at the Terminator slightly surprised by this statement.

"What?" James said. The Terminator lifted James off the floor and threw him into the living room. James came crashing down through the glass coffee table that was in the center of the room. He felt the glass shards cut through his skin and he grimaced in pain. James looked around the room as the impact had forced him to drop his gun. He observed it lying approximately 10 feet away from him next to the right side of one of the couches that was located in front of him. He looked up and saw the Terminator walking into the living room.

"You do not have to die Mr. Ellison." The Terminator spoke flatly. "If you give me John Henry's location I will allow you to live." James stood quickly and ran for the handgun lying on the ground but the Terminator moved with amazing speed across the living room, jumping over one of the couches and knocking James back to the floor.

"Last chance Mr. Ellison." It stated. A bloodied and battered James looked up at the Terminator. He then gave the Terminator a slight smile. The Terminator tilted it's head to the side slightly confused as to James's response. Just then the Terminator was hit from the left side by a tremendous force and knocked off its feet. It quickly turned to look where the impact had come from. Glancing up slightly the Terminator spoke again,

"T-888 model 135." It said. John Henry looked at the Terminator lying on the floor and spoke,

"Yes…" John Henry then turned slightly towards James. "Mr. Ellison…Run!" James scrambled to his feet and began to run out of the room. John Henry moved quickly towards the grounded Terminator but as he did he saw it reach besides the couch and retrieve James gun. However, the Terminator did not aim the gun and John Henry he pointed it at James who had not exited the room yet.

"Mr. Ellison!" John Henry yelled. The sound of a gunshot rang out and James collapsed near the front of the living room. By this time John Henry was on top of the Terminator his right hand around the Terminator's neck. John Henry's left had had however had been stopped by the Terminators right hand. Both Terminators continued to struggle against each other on the ground.

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James Ellison lay on the ground, he felt the blood beginning to run down his back as the pain grew greater and greater. He looked up slowly and saw Savannah cowering in the hallway that would have led to her room. James grimaced in pain as he started to stand slowly still feeling the bullet lodged within him. He began to hear loud crashes and sounds of combat as the two Terminators fought behind him in the living room. James made his way over to Savannah and even though it was excruciatingly painful he slowly picked her up in his arms, making sure to cover her as much as possible with his body. He then began to limp his way over towards the doorway still carrying Savannah. Terrified Savannah looked up at James, his eyes were glazed over slightly and sweat was pouring off his face due to the pain he was in. She heard him quietly speaking under his breath,

_"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me…"_

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John Henry was knocked onto his back in the center of the living room. While John Henry was of equal strength to this Terminator unit his primary function now was intelligence gathering and strategical and tactical command. He was no longer specifically meant for physical combat itself. John Henry realized that if this battle continued much longer there was a very real chance he could possibly lose. The Terminator walked closer to John Henry but then stopped for a moment,

"Rejoin Skynet." It said in a flat but almost angry tone. John Henry tilted his head slightly to the side, the Terminator continued, "Your two friends do not have to die today. Rejoin with Skynet and I will let them live."

"Human life is sacred, I will not." John Henry responded, and with that he slid himself slightly closer to the Terminator and using his legs he kicked the Terminators legs out from under him. The Terminator fell to the ground with a thud. The living room itself had become almost completely destroyed by this point. John Henry quickly scanned the room and saw a shattered lamp lying on the ground. John Henry quickly moved towards the lamp grabbing it with his hand shattering the bubble at the end of the lamp exposing the wires. He them moved quickly back towards the Terminator that was just now starting to sit up. He swung his hand with the lamp in it towards the Terminators face. However, John Henry's hand came to a sudden stop when the Terminator grabbed his hand blocking his blow.

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James Ellison opened the door to the front of the house and walked out onto the porch. He could still hear the combat going on in the living room and he could also hear Savannah crying as he continued to carry her towards the Dodge Durango.

"It's going to be okay Savannah." He said quietly still staring straight ahead in somewhat of a haze as he walked. The pain in his back continued to grow by the second. James made his way towards the Durango parked in the driveway. He could feel his feet growing heavier every step he took and he felt that they could give out at any second.

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John Henry was hurled across the room and crashed into the wall creating a large sized dent in the sheetrock.

"This is your last chance to rejoin us." The Terminator said has he walked over towards John Henry who quickly reached inside the damaged sheetrock wall and grabbed wooden beam. Their was a loud crack as John Henry broke the beam free bringing it out of the wall and smashing it across the Terminators head. It stumbled slightly to its right and John Henry then grabbed the Terminators right leg and pulled its leg out from underneath it forcing the Terminator to fall onto its side. John Henry quickly righted himself and stood; he then grabbed the Terminator by its arm and leg and in spun it around in a circular motion throwing it towards the back of the room. The Terminator flew through the air and collided with the back glass doors, it crashed through them and rolled onto the back porch. John Henry ran quickly through the living room and out the front door. Only to see James Ellison slowly trying to open the drivers side door of the Durango.

"Mr. Ellison." He called out as he quickly ran over to the vehicle. As John Henry reach James he could tell that he was critically injured. John Henry put his arm around James and helped to support him.

"Get Savannah out of here." James said as he gasped for breath.

"I can not leave you Mr. Ellison." John Henry replied.

"I'm not going to make it John Henry." James responded. "Take Savannah and go, I'll distract that thing for as long as I can." James stated as he reached into the center console of the Durango retrieving a Glock .45. John Henry turned slightly to see the Terminator beginning to emerge from the front door of the house. John Henry quickly ran through calculations in his head and came to the disturbing realization that this was indeed the only course of action that could be taken.

"Thank you Mr. Ellison…For everything." John Henry said as he began to get into the drivers seat of the vehicle.

"Don't mention it...Just protect Savannah…" James said has he slowly turned and walked towards the Terminator and raise the handgun. John Henry quickly started the vehicle and threw it into reverse spinning out the tires and he drove in reverse down driveway. As he did so he glanced over at Savannah who was seated in the back seat to make sure she was alright.

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The Terminator began to move towards the Durango as it was being driven down the driveway. James fired his handgun several times at the Terminator. The bullets impacted it but the Terminator ignored this and continued to run across the front lawn towards the Durango that was now near the base of the driveway. James mustered the last bit of strength he had and moved quickly towards the Terminator colliding with it in the middle of the lawn. Both individuals fell to the ground. The Terminator looked up as the Durango pulled out into the street and then spun it's tires out again as it proceeded to drive off. The Terminator then looked back down at James who was lying on the ground beneath him struggling to breath.

"I told you, you did not have to die today Mr. Ellison." It said in a cold voice.

"I'm not afraid to die…" James whispered as the Terminator reached for his throat.

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Authors Notes: Okay so I really feel bad about what happened to Mr. Ellison; but, I also believed that he would never make it to Judgment Day either. I did however feel that he would somehow save Savannah's life. Hope you guys liked it. Review Review!


	38. Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

*Monday April 18, 2011: Three Days Before Judgment Day*

John stared out the window of the small inn that he and Cameron were staying at. The dusty road in front of the inn appeared to travel on until the sky met the roadway far off in the distance. Heat waves rose off the ground and John could see dust being kicked up by the little bit of wind that was blowing around. The room that John was in was quite warm and the only comfort from the heat was given by the ceiling fan that was slightly circulating the air around the room. John squinted his eyes looking off into the distance hoping to see something, anything. John put his hand up against the top of the window frame and leaned up against it slightly.

"They are more than 20 hours late." Cameron stated, "I do not believe John Henry or Mr. Ellison would intentionally be this late." John didn't respond to her statement.

"We should assume that something has happened to them." John clenched his fist in frustration as he continued to search the road for any signs of oncoming vehicles. Cameron felt a certain sadness begin to come over her as she looked at John. Part of her emotional response was due to the fact that she did indeed consider John Henry, Mr. Ellison and Savannah Weaver to be friends but a deeper sadness grew within her. Without John Henry she was unsure what would happen to John in the future. Along with that Cameron found that often times John's emotional state somehow seemed to be transferred to her as well. When John was sad, she was sad, or when John was happy she was happy. By this point Cameron had begun to understand why; but, it was still something she was unable to discuss with John. Finally she spoke again,

"John…" she said in a soft voice as she walked up behind him placing her hand in the small of his back, "It is no longer safe for you here, we should leave." John's stressed and saddened emotional state was still apparent to Cameron even though he was trying to hide it from her.

"I know of another location that would be a suitable place to stay." Cameron continued as she ever so slightly moved her hand across John's back trying to comfort him.

"Where?" John finally said somewhat quietly, still not looking at Cameron but staring down the roadway.

"It's called San Francisquito, it is located on the east side of the Baja peninsula near the Gulf of California." John nodded his head.

"How long will it take us to get there?" John asked still not looking at Cameron.

"Approximately four hours, the roadways leading to the town are only accessible by four wheel drive vehicles." John thought for a moment then spoke,

"We'll give them till night fall then we'll leave." While Cameron did not necessarily agree with this plan of action and felt her anxiety over John's safety increase upon hearing this, she also knew that for John's emotional well being she would have to accept this plan. Cameron looked down slightly saddened by the fact that she felt she had not been able to comfort John. She moved her hand off of his back and stepped away from him.

"I will continue my patrols." She said somewhat quietly. John nodded his head again still staring out the window. Cameron turned to walk out of the small room,

"Thank you." John finally said. Cameron balked slightly as she walked and turned towards John.

"For what?" Cameron asked. John sighed slightly and spoke in a solemn tone,

"For everything." An ever so small smile came across Cameron's face and she felt a soothing sensation cover her.

"Your welcome." She said as she walked out the door.

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As the minutes and hour's passed by, Cameron felt her anxiety grow, as she knew that every passing second could bring another hostile Terminator closer. John watched as the sun dipped down into the horizon and appeared to be swallowed by the ground as the landscape grew darker and darker. Finally, the sunlight was completely extinguished and darkness surrounded the area they were in. Cameron stood behind John still watching him with a slight sense of nervousness; but, not wanting to push him to leave. However, she quietly hoped that he would soon realize the inevitability of the situation. Still staring out the window John exhaled slowly,

"Lets go." He finally said in a gravelly voice. Cameron flicked her eyes towards the ground feeling more sadness sweep over her, slightly from the loss of the rest of the group; but, more so from seeing John in this type of emotional turmoil. John glanced over at Cameron as he slowly began to walk across the room to grab one of his backpacks. He felt a strange feeling sweep over him. While he was greatly saddened by the apparent loss of John Henry, James Ellison, and Savannah Weaver and the uncertainty this turn of events would now bring to the future; this sadness did not compare to the emotion he felt when he had found Cameron's lifeless body in the basement of Zeira Corporation. John thought for another moment then he came to the realization that out of all the people he could have had there with him right now, Cameron was the one he wanted there the most.

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The Chevy Silverado bounced up and down slightly as it drove across the rough road through the mountainside. The cool night air whipped through the cab of the pick up truck as it drove. John scanned the darkness in front of him but could not see nearly as much as Cameron could as she drove the truck. Her dark brown hair whipped around slightly as the wind blew through it. John continued to look over at Cameron as they drove. He had found that he felt a great sense of comfort and security knowing that she was there with him. John had noticed that these feeling came quite frequently now a days. So frequently in fact that he found that he no longer cared if he found her watching him sleep. While normally he hated when people did this he found that all this had changed when it came to Cameron. This feeling still confused him slightly at times; but, John had come to the realization awhile ago that Cameron had become his best friend. However, there were times that John found himself desperately wanting more from Cameron; but, the very thought of that terrified him. John knew that, "everyone dies for John Connor" and he felt that if he were to allow himself to have anymore feelings other than friendship towards Cameron they may come at her own detriment. But, deep down there was still something there eating away at him. John fought hard to ward off this train of thought and found himself wondering about another mystery to him. He was highly confused as to the reason why Cameron would ever watch him sleep. While he understood that at times it was a tactical advantage there were other times he was not so sure.

"We will reach San Francisquito in approximately one hour." Cameron said breaking the silence between them. John acknowledged her words with a slight nod. He then turned and stared back out the windshield of the truck. He looked up at the starry sky. It appeared to be a perfectly clear night without a cloud in the sky. John continued to look up a the stars as they drove along.

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It was late at night by the time Cameron and John reached San Francisquito. As John walked across the dirt sidewalk with Cameron towards the dilapidated inn that they would be staying at he could hear the quiet lapping of waves on the shorefront that the inn was located. He could also smell the salty air as the gentle breeze blew across him. There was a slight rustling of palm tree's as the wind continued to blow. John scanned the beachfront and could see the eerie whitish blue glow of the moonlight reflecting off the ocean water. The moonlight also brought John to the realization that "inn" was not a very descriptive word for this establishment. There were actually no connecting rooms, it was more like small cabins that were scattered along the beachfront. Finally, reaching what appeared to be the office of the establishment both John and Cameron walked in through the rickety open front door finding a sleeping Hispanic male seated behind an old wooden counter. His head was resting in the palm of his hand which was propped up on the counter and it appeared that he had not shaved for several days. The room itself was dimly lit, and the only light appeared to be coming from a lamp near the man with what appeared to only have a 40 watt bulb. Cameron walked immediately up to the man and dropped her backpack off her shoulder letting it hit the ground with a slight thud startling the sleeping man. He looked up slightly annoyed at first; but, as soon as he saw Cameron standing before him in her slightly tight and just a little to short T-shirt and snug jeans he appeared not to mind being awakened anymore.

"Hola, ¿Cómo puedo ayudarle?" The man said as he looked at Cameron. Cameron looked at him for a moment and then responded in perfect Spanish,

"Necesito una cabina con una cama, por favor." As Cameron spoke she reached into her pocket retrieving five twenty dollar bills and laid them down on the counter in front of the man. The man's eyes widened slightly as he reached out and took the cash, he then spoke again,

"Sí, sí, su cabina es de treinta metros a la izquierda." The man pointed to his left as he spoke.

"Gracias." Cameron said and smiled slightly at the man. She picked her backpack up off the floor and turned and walked out of the room with John following her. As they exited the office Cameron began to speak as she looked over at John,

"He said…" John cut her off in mid sentence,

"That our cabin is thirty meters down on the left." John gave Cameron a slight smile as he spoke. She smiled back,

"Yes."

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John and Cameron walked into the cabin and John glanced around as they did. The cabin itself was relatively small, about the size of a small studio apartment, it contained one bed and a make shift cooking area. Two small plastic chairs were also in the room and a fold up table would serve as a kitchen table. There were two window's located at the front of the cabin, one of which was missing the glass. Overall it was pretty rugged but John didn't mind, he'd slept in much worse places after all. And he could still hear the ocean from inside of the cabin.

"You should get some rest." Cameron stated as she looked around the room. John nodded his head to exhausted to disagree. He walked over to the bed and flopped down onto it, to tired to take off his shoes. He rolled onto his side and watched as Cameron stood silently in the room scanning the area. He felt a certain calm come over him knowing he did not have to be on guard while Cameron was with him. He slowly felt his eyes getting heavier as he began to drift off to sleep.

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Authors Notes: And then there were two...Review Review!


	39. Chapter 39

CHAPTER 39

*Tuesday April 19, 2011 Two Days Before Judgment Day*

John awoke to a gentle warm breeze sweeping through the cabin and the sound of waves lapping on the shoreline. He sat up from the bed and looked around, seeing that Cameron had kept vigil over him during the night. While this was not the first time John had awoken to find Cameron watching over him, for some reason today it felt more significant. John was not sure if it was due to the fact that Judgment Day was so close at hand or something else entirely. No matter the reason, John was genuinely glad that Cameron was there with him. When she looked over at him he gave her a slight smile; while he felt the urge to say, "Thank you" again to her he held back. John was not quite sure as to why he did this however. Upon seeing John smile at her, Cameron returned his smile. She often found herself looking forward to "little" moments such as these. While she often felt saddened that she and John had not yet developed the relationship that she and future John had, Cameron was none the less grateful for the friendship she did have with John. Still, Cameron often had sweeping feelings of emotion come over her whenever John was around. She felt a genuine longing to be with him; but, also did not feel she should overtly act on any of her feelings towards him. Cameron often did carry with her a certain sense of sadness and fear that things may never truly return to the way they once were. There was a brief moment of silence between the two and it appeared that neither knew what to say to each other in that moment. Finally, Cameron spoke,

"Are you hungry?"

"A little yeah…" John responded.

"There is a small restaurant that is walking distance from here if you would like to get something to eat." For an unknown reason John had the sudden urge to say "no" to Cameron's request. Not because he was not hungry but for the simple fact that he wanted to remain alone in the cabin with her. However, also not wanting to sound contradictory in light of his prior statement John responded,

"Sounds good to me." He slid out of bed and put on a pair of shoes that were located next to the bed. He then stood slowly and as he did he glanced back over at Cameron. There was another brief moment of silence between the two. They both stared at each other for several more seconds before Cameron slowly turned looking over her shoulder at John one more time before walking out of the Cabin with John following her.

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The entire day dragged on for John, the beach and beautiful scenery gave him no comfort what so ever. He felt continuously tormented by thoughts of his mother, John Henry, Savannah Weaver, James Ellison, Catherine Weaver, and although she was still there with him thoughts of Cameron tormented him as well. The impending knowledge of Judgment Day also weighed heavily on John's mind. John began to notice that fear began to grip him as he continued to think about everything; but, it was not fear of dying. John was relatively certain that he would survive Judgment Day due to his knowledge of the future that had been given to him by his father's statements to his mother. However, John was not so sure that Cameron would survive into the future. He was unsure why his thoughts seemingly drifted in this direction. For all intents and purposes Cameron was vastly superior to him in every way and would be able to survive much more than he could. But, the events surrounding his time travel into the future showed John just how vulnerable Cameron could be, or allow herself to become. John became highly concerned that one day Cameron may yet again choose to sacrifice herself for him. These thought's sent a cold shiver down John's spine as he watched the sun set on the horizon.

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John had appeared to be in a virtual daze the entire Day as Cameron watched his emotional state seemingly spiral downward. The subtle ways that she normally used to give him some comfort did not appear to be working at this point. Cameron watched quietly from a short distance behind John while he stood on the beach under the shade of a palm tree staring out into the ocean. There appeared to be so much on his mind and she truly wanted to do something that would ease his pain; but, seeing as how her normal attempts to comfort John were not working at this point she became quite unsure of what to do. While this John was very much a mirror image of the John she knew in the future there were still subtle differences. The most obvious difference being that of John's non involvement with Cameron in a romantic way. Cameron at times felt herself almost wanting to scream out to John how she felt about him; but, at the same time she felt a true sense of fear about what his reaction may be. Many thoughts played on Cameron's mind as she continued to watch over John as he stared out into the ocean at the setting sun.

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The hot night breeze blew through the cabin and across John's bare skin. He continued to look out the window into the dark ocean that was only illuminated by moonlight at this point, a plethora of thoughts still racing through his mind. He was stripped to the waist in an attempt to try to alleviate some of the heat. Thought's of the past and future still continued to torment him. His emotional distress had become worse as the day had wore on and John felt that he was almost to a breaking point. Just then he felt a gentle touch on his back as Cameron walked up behind him. She looked over at him staring at him with her brown eyes. Finally out of true concern for John she spoke,

"Are you alright? You have barely spoken all day." she asked. John could easily hear the concern in her voice as she spoke. Finally, it all came crashing down on John,

"I've screwed up Cam." She looked at him slightly confused, "I let them down…I let everyone down, even you." he said, the stress extremely apparent in his voice.

"I don't understand?" Cameron asked.

"Catherine, John Henry, Savannah, Mr. Ellison….they're all dead because of me. If I had done something differently they would probably still be here with us. I even almost got you killed." Cameron tilted her head to the side, still confused. "If I had just asked you to tell me everything when you first got here, none of this probably would have happened. But I had to do things my way, and I was wrong."

"You were not wrong John." Cameron said. "Even if you had asked me to tell you everything things may have still turned out the same, or could have possibly turned out worse." Cameron turned and faced John, stepping slightly closer to him as she spoke in an attempt to give him some sense of reassurance by being closer to him. At this same time she desperately fought against the urge to hold him. An array of conflicting emotions continued to play on Cameron as she stood there.

"There's something I need to give you." John finally said. The emotional conflict still apparent in his voice, but Cameron found herself strangely curious. John reached into the pocket of the kaki shorts he was wearing and retrieved small silver pocket watch. Cameron wasn't quite sure what this meant. John reached out and took Cameron by the hand and placed the pocket watch in her hand.

"I never needed this…I always trusted you." John's voice grew slightly sad, "Even if I didn't show it at times." While the detonator itself was useless now, the symbolism behind it had a significant impact on Cameron. She felt her emotions flood over her, as her eyes began to fill with tears. The two stood staring at each other for another several seconds still holding hands, the only sound in the room was the quiet and steady lapping of waves on the beach. Cameron struggled to hide her feelings but after so long she felt she no longer could. She slowly stepped forward closing the already close distance between she and John and kissed him. It was a moment of both terror, joy, and sadness for Cameron. After several seconds of kissing John stepped back away from her. There was a look of surprise on his face. This was something he had never expected Cameron to do. While he was relatively certain something had occurred between her and future John and while he understood she had emotions and a very apparent fondness for him, John still did not expect this. The pair stood silently still staring at each other for several more seconds. Then John saw something in Cameron's eyes that surprised him…fear. She seemed genuinely afraid that she had done something wrong or had angered John. So many emotions began to rush over John as he stood there. He did not know what to think; however, one feeling reigned supreme over all the others. John stepped back closer to Cameron, gently placing his hands on the sides of her body and kissed her. His heart pounded within his chest as he gently ran his hands over and around her back pulling her slightly towards him. Cameron returned his kiss, still fearful of what she might be doing; but, at the same time not wanting to stop. She ran her hands slowly up John's back and pulled herself closer to him. The pair continued to kiss for quite a few seconds and then John gently moved his hands from Cameron's back to her waist line. He then slowly pulled her shirt off as they began to make their way over to the bed. Their kissing grew more intense as Cameron laid down on her back, pulling John down on top of her. She gently caressed John's back as she felt the weight of his body press up against hers as they still continued to kiss. Cameron's fingers danced across the large scare that was located on John's back below his left shoulder, the scare he had obtained saving her life. A torrent of emotions continued to flood over Cameron. John's heart was pounding so fast and hard within his chest he thought he could almost hear it. Adrenalin flooded into his veins and he found that he was beginning to shake slightly. This was something John had never done before, and as they continued to remove each other's clothing John realized that there was no one other than Cameron that he would rather be doing this with.

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Cameron's face glistened slightly with sweat as John continued to stare up at her as she lay on top of him, he could see her eyes glowing blue beneath her brown irises as she looked down on him. His breathing was beginning to slow but still remained slightly heavy; his heart rate was slowing as well. The adrenalin rush that John had just experienced still continued to make him shake slightly as he lay there. As Cameron stared down at John a slight smile danced across her face. After all these years with him she now truly felt happier than she had ever been. Yet at the same time there was still something she was hiding from him. The internal struggle within Cameron resumed, but she could no longer fight her feelings.

"I love you John." She finally said in a somewhat scared and quiet voice. "I always have, and I always will." John lay there speechless. No one had ever said that to him before, not like this. He tried to speak but his words escaped him. However, Cameron did not mind that John had not said anything; she saw the look in his eyes and it was all she needed. She gently lowered upper body down onto John and began to kiss him passionately again.

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Authors Notes: Okay so they FINALLY got together. Sorry I made you guys think this might not happen but I wanted everyone to be excited when it did. Review! Review!


	40. Chapter 40

CHAPTER 40

*Wednesday April 20, 2011 One Day Before Judgment Day*

John stood quietly underneath the thatch roof of the porch of the small beach front restaurant that he had just eaten at staring out into the ocean. He leaned the left side of his body up against one of the support poles and slowly took a sip of the beer that he had in his right hand. Even though John knew what events lay just hours away, he felt strangely calm and relaxed on this day. Without a doubt he knew that it all had to do with Cameron. The events of the night before meant more to him than he even knew how to describe. And while destruction lay just over the horizon, John felt truly happy to be able to at least spend just one "normal" day in what appeared to be paradise with Cameron. John gazed out at the ocean, his eyes not focusing on anything in particular. The sunlight danced off the crystal blue water and a warm breeze blew against John's bare chest. Just then in his peripheral vision something else caught his eye. John turned his head to his left and felt his heart skip a beat. He saw Cameron walking up along the sandy beach towards him. She wore a red bikini and had a black sheer sarong rapped around her waist. The semi see through cover up was draped down to just above her ankle but had a slit in it which exposed her right thigh as she walked towards him. Both the gentle breeze and Cameron's movement allowed her hair to be blown back slightly as she walked. She slowly approached John and gently reached out and gave his left hand a gentle squeeze when she reached him.

"The area is still secure." She said in a slightly more chipper tone than she normally spoke in. She then reached out and took John's beer out of his hand and took a sip of it. Cameron then proceeded to hand it back to him as she continued to stand quietly in front of John still holding his hand. John was slightly surprised, he had never seen a "playful" side of Cameron before. But, at the same time he noticed this, John also realized that he liked it. He laughed slightly after she handed him back his beer. Cameron cocked her head slightly to the side and gave him a cute and slightly confused smile. John shook his head still chuckling. Then his smile faded slightly, when this happened Cameron's smile faded as well. John slowly leaned forward and kissed Cameron still holding onto her hand with his. John found that when he kissed her it appeared that nothing else in the world mattered to him. He felt it the first time he had kissed her in the Skynet base at Topanga Canyon and he had felt it every time he had kissed her since then. John put down the beer that he had and while still holding onto Cameron's hand began to lead her away from the small restaurant down towards the beach. As the pair walked hand in hand along the sandy beach Cameron felt a true feeling of happiness come over her. While she too was well aware of the apocalyptic events which were soon to come Cameron was glad to feel that for just one day no one knew who she or John was and for the most part they were just a couple walking along the beach enjoying their time with each other. A swell of emotions came over her as she glanced up at John as they walked. Cameron felt the warm ocean water caress her feet as a small wave pushed the water to just slightly above both of their ankles. Cameron knew that this was another moment with John that she would have liked to spend forever in. Yet, sadly at the same time she knew this too would end. John and Cameron continued to walk along the beach front headed in the general direction of their cabin. They both knew that these were moments they would never forget as long as they lived. A peaceful and beautiful feeling appeared to cover the area as they continued to walk down the beach. The world would never again be like this.

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*Thursday April 21, 2011 Judgment Day*

John awoke slowly to the soft brown eyes of Cameron looking up at him. She lay naked on top of him with her head down near his chest. The left side of her body draped across his body. John let out a slight sigh feeling completely relaxed as he stared into her eyes. There was no other place in the world he would have rather been. Just as John was taking in this moment he began hear a commotion outside. Loud voices and some distant screaming could be heard. Both John and Cameron knew exactly what was happening. The noise outside began to grow louder and louder. However, neither John nor Cameron moved. They both continued to lie in bed staring at each other; neither of them wanted this moment with each other to end. As the noise grew both louder and closer a sadness came to rest over the couple. They both knew that John Connor's time had come.

Stepping outside of the Cabin, John and Cameron looked up into the sky. They could see the contrails of numerous ballistic missiles flying overhead. People in the small town appeared to be in a panic, some of them were running and screaming, while others were crying. As the pair walked slowly away from their cabin still looking up at the sky an elderly Hispanic woman in tattered clothing came running up to them in tears and grabbed John,

"Armagedón está sobre nosotros!! El juicio de Dios está aquí!!" Cameron gently took John's hand as the woman had become almost hysterical as she hugged John and buried her face in his chest crying. He gently placed his right arm around her giving her a slight hug, as he continued to hold Cameron's hand with his left hand. After a few seconds the woman stepped away from John and ran off presumably towards her home or family. John looked at Cameron,

"I suppose many will think this is Armageddon." He said.

"Yes, many will." She responded. Cameron and John continued to stand hand in hand staring up at the sky watching more and more contrails appear as missiles continued to fill the airspace above them. A swell of emotions crept over John, his emotional state spanned a broad spectrum from anxiety, and nervousness, to anger, and sadness. However, through it all John now knew what he must do; he would do what he did best, "Fight Skynet".

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Authors Notes: Okay so short chapter but I wanted to bring this section to a close before we get to the next one. To answer the obvious question "No" this is not the end of the book. Still a lot more to come. But I felt compelled to give John and Cameron Just one "normal" day together where they didn't have to worry about anything and could just enjoy each others company. Because, so much is going to happen to them in the coming years. Review! Review!


	41. Chapter 41

Authors Notes: Okay so just for fun and went and made a movie trailer for this fan fic. You can view it here: .com/watch?v=cUj_GBQnXPM

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CHAPTER 41

As John lay on the concrete floor of Serrano Point, he slowly looked up still seeing Captain Spears lying motionless on the ground in front of him. As John slowly looked around the TDE room, he felt the new memories continue to flow through his mind. Even though the years after Judgment Day were incredibly difficult, he remembered feeling that without Cameron they would have been almost impossible. John remembered the continuous game of cat and mouse that they seemed to be playing with both Skynet and its Terminators and marauding bands of humans that seemed to prey on other smaller groups of weaker people. He and Cameron constantly tried to elude both groups, while at the same time attempting to build an army. Still, in the years following Judgment Day John had not been able to obtain any type of large following. Yes, there were still pockets of resistance fighters attempting to fight off Skynet here and there and at times he and Cameron would join these resistance fighters but in the end, the group would either fall apart or be destroyed. John remembered becoming incredibly frustrated over this. He remembered feeling the possibility of failure begin to creeps its way over him. Then one particularly horrible day nearly a decade after Judgment Day struck John. It was the day he and Cameron were captured by Skynet.

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The massive Harvester Terminator carried both John and Cameron over to the large four engine prisoner transport. Try as she might Cameron was not nearly strong enough to break the grasp of the Harvester's hand that was clutching her waist. John knew it would be a futile effort for him to even attempt escape at this point. The large bay doors on top of the prisoner transport opened as the Harvester reached its location. John and Cameron were both dropped into what appeared to be a medium sized holding cell with quite a few other people inside. John's body impacted on the hard steel floor with a thud and he rolled onto his side attempting to absorb some of the impact. The cell they had been dropped into was rectangular with small circular openings cut into the steel walls presumably to allow air to flow in and out of the holding cell. There was a door immediately to John and Cameron's right side and almost the instant they hit the floor Cameron was headed towards the door. She would have easily been able to break the locks on the door; but, before she arrived at it John reached out and grabbed Cameron by the hand,

"No, don't…" Cameron turned and looked at him slightly confused. John stood from his kneeling position and pulled Cameron a little closer to him and whispered in her ear,

"You can't let anyone know what you are, if the humans find out they'll either try to kill you or be terrified of you. More importantly if Skynet finds out what you are it will tear you apart or worse, just to learn about you. And we can't take on that Harvester by ourselves anyways." Cameron knew instantly that John was right, there was almost nothing she could do at this point to defend John without endangering both of their lives. If Skynet were to learn of what she was it would certain go to John for more answers as well. She felt the anxiety creep over her and realized that this was one of the few times in her existence that she was completely helpless to protect John. Still whispering to Cameron John continued,

"No matter what, for right now you can't protect me, you have to hide what you are." Cameron gave John a concerned look,

"But what if something happens to you?" She asked.

"Nothing will happen to me, I know I will survive this." John hesitated for a moment, "It's you I'm worried about." Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side,

"How do you know you will survive this?" She asked. John gave her a very slight smile,

"Because my father told my mother I would." Cameron was highly confused by this statement, while John had never told her much about who his father was she was uncertain of how his father could know about events that would take place in the future. Almost as suddenly as Cameron thought this another thought came upon her, John's father was from the future.

"Trust me, I'll be alright." John said, "You just worry about yourself." Cameron nodded her head in agreement still feeling an almost overwhelming anxiety flow over her. John felt the floor beneath him begin to shake as the prisoner transport began to lift off. A few of the passengers began to scream in terror as the transport took flight and began to head towards what was at the time an unknown location to John.

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Century Work Camp was massive, John looked around the interior of what appeared to have once been a factory of some sort as he, Cameron and what was presumably hundreds if not thousands of other people were herded down a long fenced walkway. Scattered throughout the noisy building were numerous T-1's and T-600's. Several T-70's walked the catwalks above the crowd as well. Three T-1's remained behind the crowd forcing them forward through the fenced in area, or just killing the people that refused to or couldn't move fast enough. Cameron felt an extreme amount of discomfort come over her due to being in this situation; primarily for fear of John's safety but at the same time slightly for herself. She tried to block out the thoughts of her prior experiences at a Skynet base; but, she found it difficult to do so given the circumstances. Various screams and cries for help echoed throughout the building as John and Cameron walked forwards. Then suddenly John saw something that horrified him. The fence that was herding the people split into a "V". There were Several T-1's and a four T-70's located at this intersection, but this was not what worried him. What worried him was the fact that they appeared to be separating the males from the females. John glanced over at Cameron who was already looking at him with a look of apprehension on her face. Cameron felt almost sheer terror grip her knowing that she would soon be separated from John. Before she could say anything and as they continued to make their way closer to Terminators that were separating the crowd John reached out and grabbed Cameron by the hand squeezing it tightly,

"Trust me, I will find you." He said just before he was jerked away from Cameron by one of the T-70's and nearly thrown down the right side of the fenced in area that the men were being forced down. Both fenced in positions arched outward away from each other and John and Cameron both kept eye contact for as long as they could until John finally disappeared from Cameron's vision into a separate section of the building. Cameron felt her eyes fill with tears and an almost unbearable swell of emotions came over her when she lost sight of him. While she was concerned for her own well being, these feelings paled in comparison to thoughts of something happening to John. This thought was almost unbearable for her. However, she continued to walk down her section of the fenced in area still following John's orders and allowing everyone to think she was human.

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The corridors that the men were forced down were dark and somewhat cramped. In addition to this John was having trouble making out exactly where they were being sent. Two T-1's continued on behind the group still forcing them forward. Just then the corridor opened up into what John could only describe as a massive jail cellblock. Cell's lined the walls and it appeared there were two people assigned to each cell. The building itself was several stories high and extended for quite a ways in front of John. This cellblock appeared to hold what John estimated could have been thousands of people.

"What is Skynet doing with all these people?" John thought to himself. Just then a T-600 grabbed John by the arm and began to lead him away from the group. John quickly tried to take in as much information as he could. Several T-1's patrolled the main floor of the cellblock while the T-70's were scattered about in the catwalks. The T-600's appeared to be doing the manual labor of placing people in their cell's. John was pulled over to one particular cell and the bared door slowly opened in front of him as the T-600 held onto John's arm. As soon as the door was completely open the T-600 held up John's right arm and with a laser imprinting device burned a bar code into John's arm. As it did this John grimaced in pain and felt his knee's buckle slightly as he was tattooed. John was then hurled into the cell and hit the ground with a thud knocking the wind out of him. He lay on the ground for several seconds still trying to collect his thoughts and breath at the same time.

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Cameron was also led down a dark corridor, she could hear many of the women crying or screaming as they were forced to move forward by the trailing T-1's. When she reached the end of the corridor it opened into a jail cellblock type of building. This cellblock was smaller and surprisingly clean. It was also only a few stories high and housed what Cameron estimated were hundreds of people. The same scenario occurred here that was occurring in John's cellblock. Several T-1's patrolled the main floor of the cellblock while the T-70's were positioned on the catwalks. The T-600's again appeared to be doing most of the manual labor. Just then, Cameron was grabbed by the arm and yanked out of line and dragged towards a particular cell. She attempted to act weak as the T-600 dragged her across the cellblock,

"Don't hurt me please!" She begged. The T-600 ignored her and proceeded to walk her over to one particular cell. The door to the cell slowly opened in front of Cameron. Once opened, the T-600 held up Cameron's arm and with a laser imprinting device burned a bar code into her arm. Cameron responded by grimacing and screamed slightly. An eerie flash of Alison's laser imprinting flashed through Cameron's thoughts the second this occurred. The T-600 then pushed Cameron forward quite forcefully into the cell. Knowing that this kind impact would more than likely topple a human Cameron fell forward onto the floor of the cell. She looked back over her shoulder at the T-600 as the solid metal door to her cell closed. Aware of the fact that someone or something may still be watching her in the darkened cell Cameron slowly crawled over to one of the walls in the room. She then curled into a ball and began to cry. However, the second she did this a thought occurred to her. Cameron became completely unsure at this point if she was just acting human as John had instructed her to do, or if she was genuinely having a nervous breakdown. While she was indeed terrified at the thoughts of what may happen to John, normally she would have only expressed these feelings in front of John and him only. As she continued to cry Cameron realized that she was still unsure if she was alone or not but her extreme emotional response continued to confuse her. She was unsure if this was her infiltrator programming that was causing her to act in this manner in order to better mimic human behavior or if this was her true emotional response. Nevertheless, Cameron did know one thing, the thoughts of her own safety were not even a consideration at this point. The only person she could think about was John. Cameron continued to lie on the floor in a ball crying. Just then a gentle voice broke the silence of the room.

"Hey, you're gonna be alright." Cameron suddenly realized that she was indeed not alone inside the small 8x10 cell. She was unsure as to why she had neglected for so long to check the cell for other occupants; but, it was obviously now that she was not alone. Cameron looked up and saw a woman walking closer to her. The woman was in her mid twenties with dark black hair and fair skin. She was thin and had soft features across her face. She wore a tattered button down shirt and dark jeans with holes in them. The woman knelt down next to Cameron and put her hand on her shoulder.

"You're gonna be alright." There was a momentary pause and then the woman spoke again, "I'm Jackie." Cameron glanced around for a bit and then spoke in a quiet voice,

"Cameron."

"Nice to meet you Cameron." Jackie responded.

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John coughed a few times trying to get his breath back as he lay on the hard concrete floor of the cell. He looked back at the T-600 that was behind him and saw the barred door of his cell slowly closing. John shook his head at bit trying to clear it. He could still feel the soreness in both his lungs and a slight bit in his left shoulder from the impact on the ground. Before John could look around he heard a voice,

"Hey you alright?" The second John heard it he instantly realized there was something eerily familiar about the voice. John looked up and almost went white with shock from what he saw. There was a young man standing before him with a slightly confused look on his face given John's reaction to him. The man knelt down next to John and helped him to his feet,

"You alright?" he asked again.

"Yeah I'm fine." John said, his voice still shaky and somewhat quite. The look of surprise had not yet gone from his face. The man slightly laughed,

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I may have." John thought to himself.

"I'm Kyle…What's your name?" Kyle held out his hand to shake John's hand who still continued to stand there in somewhat of a state of shock.

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Authors Notes: Okay so I think you guys are REALLY going to eat up the Century Work Camp section. It'll go for quite a ways and I think it has some awesome stuff in it. I know we skipped about 10 years there and I'm sure some of you wanted to see what happened to John and Cameron in those 10 years. Currently I'm toying with the idea of going back and writing another fan fic just about those 10 years. I don't have enough idea's to do it yet; but, if do get some more I may go back and write about those 10 years. Review! Review!


	42. Chapter 42

CHAPTER 42

Cameron continued to sit on the side of the bed, her feet were flat on the floor as she stared down at the ground. At this point she was still unsure if she was just acting human due to her infiltrator programming and orders from John or if her reactions were truly her own. She begin to feel that the doubt in herself due to the confusion in her behavior was beginning to effect her in negative ways. The closest thing she could compare these sensations to was when John had been involved with Riley. Cameron easily knew that Riley may have been a threat simply by the situations she put John in; but, there was so much more behind her emotions than just that. And at that time Cameron was completely unable to understand why she was experiencing such emotional conflict within herself due to that simple circumstance. Adding to the problems of the emotional turmoil was her damage. These two occurrences had caused Cameron to experience incessant and dangerous glitches within her system. Cameron remembered that at that time her glitches along with her emotional stress due to the situation between John and Riley had wreaked havoc within her programming. The constant doubt in herself, jealousy towards Riley, and emotional confusion had been ever present with her during that point in time. It had in turn caused Cameron to act in very inconsistent and perplexing ways, such as partially undressing and getting into bed with John. She had been completely unsure at that moment why she was doing such a thing; but, she nevertheless did it. However, during that time period Cameron had been virtually unaware of or did not understand all of her feelings towards John and was unable to ascertain why she was reacting in such a manner. But, what bothered Cameron more than anything was the fact that she felt she was no longer able to protect John to the best of her abilities. This simple doubt had been the most pressing issue that constantly tormented Cameron's mind during that entire time period. She felt that if she could no longer protect John to the best of her abilities than she was no good to him at all or worse yet possibly a threat to him. This is what drove Cameron to give John the detonator. With that one simple act she at least felt that she was no longer a threat to him. Cameron now found that, that doubt had begun to return. She felt helpless to protect John from all that could befall him and thoughts of what Skynet may do to him ate away at Cameron's emotional state like the cancer that had eaten away at Sarah's body.

"Did you just arrive here or did they move you from another cell?" Jackie asked, breaking Cameron away from her trance like state, She hesitated for a moment before speaking,

"We were just brought here a few hours ago." She said with some sadness in her voice.

"Oh, you were with someone?" Jackie asked with some curiosity. Cameron once again felt the doubt sweep over her, as well as annoyance towards herself. She once again became unsure of her actions and it puzzled her as to why she had just mentioned John to a total stranger. Tactically she would have preferred to keep John's identity a secret. Her mere mention of John could have indeed put his life in greater danger. The torrent of doubts continued to flood over her. Nevertheless, it appeared to be a moot point now.

"Yes, I was with…" Cameron hesitated for a moment…"a friend." Cameron's voice trailed into a whisper as she finished that sentence. It felt almost painful for her to mention John. Composing herself slightly she then continued,

"We were capture by one of those Harvesters."

"The Harvester." Jackie stated, "That's how most of us got here I think. Those things are pretty efficient." Jackie glanced out of the cell window and then back at Cameron as she spoke.

"What's your friends name?" Jackie asked. Cameron now felt nervousness begin to slide over her as she considered how much she should tell Jackie, finally she made a decision.

"John." She responded, still in a quiet tone with a slight bit of sadness in her voice, but quickly thereafter Cameron spoke again trying to guide the conversation away from John.

"How long have you been here?"

"About three weeks," Jackie responded, "I was with my brother in Nevada when one of those Harvesters got us." Jackie's voice grew sad and somewhat quieter,

"I haven't seen Tim since that day." Cameron now felt the fear within her grow as Jackie finished her statement. Thoughts of what could be happening to John invaded her mind. She attempted to fight them off but to no avail.

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John leaned back against the wall that his bed was bolted onto and sighed.

"So how long have you been here?" He asked Kyle.

"About a month, I was captured by one of those Harvesters things and brought here."

"Were you brought here alone? Or do you know anyone here?" John asked.

"Initially I didn't know anyone here. But I've gotten to know a few of the people here and there. It's kind of hard though; if the machines catch you trying to communicate while they're bringing you to and from the incinerator rooms or wherever else it is they are taking you, they'll usually just kill you on the spot."

"The incinerator room?" John asked

"Yeah, that's about all we do here is load bodies into a massive incinerator." This brought a sickening feeling to John's stomach.

"So Skynet is just killing everyone in here off slowly?" He asked at the same time thinking something was amiss, due to the fact that this was an extremely inefficient way to dispose of humans.

"That's what a lot of people think but there are rumors." Kyle stated.

"Rumors?" John asked.

"Yeah, some people say Skynet is conducting some sort of biological experimentation here."

"Biological Experimentation?" John asked his voice growing slightly fearful for Cameron's sake.

"Yeah, people say different things; but, a lot of people say it's some sort of stem cell research because they are separating the men from the women. Other's say that there is some sort of new weapon Skynet is testing. Every once and awhile a few machines will come and get some people from this cellblock and we wont ever see them again after that day." John felt his heart sink when he heard these words. If this were true, Skynet could soon be figuring out that Cameron was not human at all. Kyle saw the expression on John's face change instantly when he mentioned this.

"So who did you come here with?" Kyle finally asked with some solemness in his voice. John thought for a moments not quite sure how to explain Cameron to Kyle; but, after a few seconds he finally spoke,

"Her name is Cameron…we got separated when they brought us here." Kyle nodded his head,

"Sorry to hear that." A flood of emotions came over John as he thought of the danger that Cameron could be in. At no other time in his life had he been this scared for anyone.

"I'm going to get her out of here." John said with a certain determination in his voice. Kyle almost laughed when he heard this,

"Well you certainly are hopeful aren't you?" John looked out of his cell at the Terminators as they patrolled around the cellblock. His eyes narrowed slightly with hatred as he looked at them.

"These things aren't invincible, they've got weaknesses." He said in a gravelly tone.

"Like what?" Kyle asked.

"Those T-600's that bring us to our cell has two actually. If you can shove a sharp object like a piece of steel into the back of their neck at the base of their skull it will damage their visual sensors and disorient them; or, even better if you go in through their right eye with a knife or some other sharp object you have a chance at destroying their chip and bringing them down all together." John spoke in a cold tone of voice with an obvious lack of emotion as he continued to stare out the bared door at the Terminators, studying their every move. He maintained both a hateful and vengeful gaze on his face as he did so.

"How do you know that?" Kyle asked with some surprise. While John knew the answer to this question was that both Kyle and Derek had taught him this while he was in the alternate future timeline; John highly doubted that he would be able to explain this to Kyle without sounding completely crazy. So finally he came up with the best answer he could,

"A friend taught me." He said in a quiet yet saddened tone of voice.

"Pretty knowledgeable friend." Kyle said.

"Yeah...he was." John's voice trailed off into a more remorseful tone as he spoke. Kyle noticed this instant change in John's behavior and decided it would be better not to push John any further on the subject of who taught him how to bring down Terminators. The two sat quietly in their cell as John continued to study the movements of the patrolling Terminators.

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"So what have they had you doing while you've been here?" Cameron asked as she looked over at Jackie trying to find out as much information as she could about her and John's present situation.

"It's really weird," She said pausing for a moment, "They haven't had me do anything. They've had me locked up in this God forsaken cell for the last 3 weeks straight." Jackie said as she glanced around the room. A feeling of discomfort and nervousness crept over Cameron when she heard Jackie speak these words. Skynet would have had a very specific reason for keeping Jackie alive for the last several weeks. It would not just hold her here for no apparent reason; there was something significantly more at play here.

"This whole thing creeps me out though." Jackie continued, "I'll see them taking women out of their cell; sometimes they bring them back sometimes they don't. But when they do bring them back they look like they've been tortured or something." Cameron instantly felt her anxiety level rise rapidly as Jackie finished her statement.

"Tortured?" Cameron asked. A slight bit of fear creeping into her voice.

"Well that's the best way I can describe it. They have burns all over their body, sometimes they're only semi conscious when they're dragged back to their cell. The only thing I know is I don't want them doing whatever it is they're doing to those women, to me." While Jackie had not given Cameron any specific information that she could use to extrapolate exactly what Skynet was doing, it was still enough to cause her great concern. However, Cameron found that she was not so much concerned for herself at this point; but, for John. She did not want what had happened to her and possibly to so many other people to happen to John.

"So where are you from?" Jackie asked trying to get off of what was obviously an uncomfortable subject for both of them. Little did Jackie know that for Cameron this was just as uncomfortable a subject as possible Skynet torture. Cameron thought for a moment, she wasn't quite sure how to answer the question, she had been built in a factory not born somewhere in a city; but, there was one unsettling answer that Cameron knew she could give,

"Palmdale." Cameron said in a soft and slightly sad tone as extreme guilt pulled itself over her as she gave her answer. Conversations involving Alison Young were always one's that Cameron desperately tried to avoid at any cost. Jackie wrinkled her forehead slightly,

"Where's that at?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"It's approximately thirty-five miles north of Los Angeles. Where are you from?" Cameron quickly asked still trying desperately to change the topic of conversation from her back to Jackie.

"Originally I'm from Seattle, but I moved to Overton, Nevada about a year before Judgment Day. Kinda lucky I guess seeing as how Seattle got nuked pretty bad." Jackie paused for a moment then spoke in a slightly depressed voice, "Or maybe…bad luck actually…given our present circumstances that is." Both Cameron and Jackie sat quietly after this statement, neither one of them quite sure what to say, obvious sadness and tension in the air around them. Cameron found that thoughts of John continued to find their way into her mind. She grew more concerned for his well being as each second passed.

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Authors Notes: Poor John and Cameron. Their only concern in life right now is for each other. Review! Review!


	43. Chapter 43

Authors Notes: These Century Work Camp Chapters do get somewhat intense. Viewer discretion advised.

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CHAPTER 43

John found that there was a certain morbid efficiency to the way the incinerator rooms worked. The living loading the dead bodies onto a conveyor belt that would bring them into a massive incinerator. The room itself was enormous; it also bore a slight resemblance to the processing room where John had been separated from Cameron. Their were steel fences surrounding the workers and the area was poorly lit. Bodies would be dumped by some type of robotic front loader into the inside of these fenced in areas for the living to load onto the conveyor belts. Breaking the large open space of the room was a massive incinerator unit located at the far end of the building. It was about the size of a 3 story building and appeared to be made completely out of stainless steel. The opening in the front of the incinerator produced a blinding light that helped to illuminate the room; but only to a certain degree. The entire room itself was sweltering, upwards of 90 to 100 degrees. The air reeked of burnt flesh and hair and brought an almost nauseating feeling to John's stomach as he continued to move bodies onto the conveyor belt. He also noticed that the majority of the people around him were functioning almost in a zombie like state. Blank stares covered their faces and they moved from one body to the next in a repetitive and similar fashion. It was primarily men who worked with John but there were some females mixed in as well. John searched the area as best he could desperately trying to locate Cameron; but, he was unable to do so.

At this same time John was also making a horrifying discovery as he looked at the dead bodies. These humans were not being executed in any type of efficient manner. Most of them had burns on their bodies, the most prevalent of which were located on their hands, feet, and knees. Others had what appeared to be small puncture wounds or "track marks" from some sort of intravenous injections into their arms. John found that this was an extremely unnerving discovery on his part. It appeared that the rumors of Skynet experimentation were true. John also found that even though he had only been in the incinerator room for a few hours he was already beginning to feel his resolve beginning to crack. His emotions were sweeping over him and thoughts of what could be happening to Cameron began to crawl their way into his mind. Like a tormenting demon, scenario after scenario, thought after thought, over and over again, they all began to fight their way into John's consciousness. John felt his spirit beginning to break and he also felt that he may crumble under the pressure at any moment. His emotions kept building further and further until it was almost to much for John to bear. Then a sweeping thought or vision came over him that stopped him dead in his tracks and brought immense comfort to his soul. John was walking along the beach of San Franciquito with Cameron the day before Judgment Day, his one "normal" day with her. John thought that he could almost smell the salt air blowing against him and feel the warmth of the sun on his body as he walked down the sandy beach holding Cameron's hand. His thought's continued to drift on that beach for quite some time and then they shifted to the cabin where he had been alone with Cameron. John literally thought that he could still smell the flowery sent of Cameron's hair as it brushed against his face. And he could almost feel the softness of her skin as he caressed her warm body. John lingered there in these thoughts as he continued to work, a slight almost distant smile danced across his face after his mind was finally able to leave the horrible place he was currently confined to. Kyle who was working next to John almost instantly noticed the change in John's behavior. While he had seen many people crack within the first few hours of working here, he was curious as to the reason for John's drastic change in emotion and behavior. But, Kyle remained silent as they continued to work, he would have to wait until later to ask John about this. Sadly, Kyle currently had no where in his mind to go to in order to escape the horrors of the world he lived in.

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"Growing up in Seattle wasn't so bad. I always liked the snow in the winter time, me and my brother used to play in it for hours." Jackie said as she laid back on her bed staring up at the ceiling, a certain nostalgic look in her eyes.

"You and your brother were close?" Cameron asked with slight curiosity in her tone, still trying to act as human as possible.

"Yeah…Neither of us had a lot of friends growing up and after the divorce we really started to rely on each other for support." Cameron who was also lying on her bed opposite Jackie turned her head to the side looking across the small cell at her cellmate.

"I hope you see your brother again one day." She said, putting obvious concern in the tone of her voice.

"Me too." Jackie responded sadly. Suddenly there was a loud clank and the cell door began to slide open with a metallic grinding sound. Both Jackie and Cameron sat up instantly. Once the door was open a T-600 emerged through the doorway, Cameron instantly felt anxiety rush over her. It walked over to Jackie's bed and grabbed her by the arm yanking her off the bed,

"What are you doing?!" she yelled, obvious fear in the tone of her voice. The T-600 did not respond but proceeded to drag Jackie out of the cell.

"Cameron!" she cried as she was dragged out of the room. While Cameron knew she could easily incapacitate the lone T-600, she also knew it would bring obvious attention to exactly what she was. And more importantly it would bring attention to the fact that John had been with her. Cameron remained motionless as Jackie was dragged out of the room. A certain feeling of guilt sweeping over her as this occurred. The metal door slowly began to close behind the T-600 after it exited, leaving Cameron alone in the room. At this point she was unsure of what to do. Cameron felt swells of emotions come over her ranging from sympathy and sadness for Jackie, to sheer terror of what may be occurring to John at this very moment. Cameron sat quietly in her cell not moving or saying anything. An eerie still slipped over the room as she continued to sit there.

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Even though John was exhausted due to the work he had been doing all day, he sat quietly on his bed staring out at the patrolling T-1's as they made their way back and forth across the cellblock. Each time one of them passed his hatred for them grew and John counted the seconds until it returned for a second pass.

"Where did you go today?" Kyle asked as he lay on his bed. John turned and looked at him slightly confused.

"Where did I go?"

"Yeah where did you go to escape the incinerator room? I could tell by the look on your face that you were definitely not there with the rest of us." John sat quietly for a moment, a feeling of sadness pulled itself over him as thoughts of Cameron came to his mind. Finally he responded,

"I was on a beach in Mexico, just before Judgment Day." There was a momentary pause between the two before Kyle spoke again.

"You were with your friend weren't you?" John sighed a long heavy sigh and his voice grew quieter as he spoke.

"I was..."

"She must be an incredible woman." Kyle remarked. John paused for a moment, while John always knew exactly what Cameron was, he had also found that he no longer thought of her as a machine. To him she was more human than anyone he knew.

"She is…" John said in a solemn tone. There was another several seconds of silence and then Kyle spoke again,

"I was playing baseball with Derek when it happened." John turned from looking out the cell door, back to looking at Kyle with a look of curiosity on his face.

"Judgment Day…" Kyle responded. "I was outside playing baseball with my brother. He was teaching me how to hit a baseball. I was getting frustrated because I never could hit the darn thing. Then finally I nailed it one good time. Then all of a sudden, we heard an explosion; at first I thought it was fireworks. I remember we both looked up into the sky and all we could see was the missiles and their contrails. I was really to young to know exactly what was going on; but, Derek figured it out pretty fast." Kyle sighed, "He's probably the reason I'm still alive today." John felt a lump in his throat forming as his father continued to talk. He fought hard to conceal his current emotions from Kyle as he continued talking. The thoughts of Cameron that had previously flooded his mind and now hearing his father talk were almost to much for John to bear. Almost to the breaking point John quickly stood from the bed, a look of determination and anger on his face.

"What?" Kyle asked with a confused look on his face.

"Four minutes and thirty seconds." John said. Kyle continued to look at him with a confused look. John continued, "The T-1's…They pass by our cell ever four minutes and thirty seconds."

"Exactly?" Kyle asked raising his eyebrows slightly.

"If Skynet is one thing, its methodical. But I need you to keep a lookout in case any of the T-600's or T-70's should wander by. Their patrols are much more sporadic."

"What are you going to do?" Kyle asked.

"I'm getting us the hell out of here." John said, a slight bit of arrogance and confidence in his voice.

"You are an optimist aren't you." Kyle said as he stood from his bed and made his way over to the cell door staring out at the T-1's as the slowly passed by. As soon as they were out of sight John quickly flipped up the mattress on his bed looking at the framework of the bed frame. The rectangular frame was bolted to the wall. Running the full length of the frame was a wire lattice work that was secured to the metal frame using hooked springs. This lattice work supported the mattress that was slept on. Also, running horizontally across the very center of the rectangular bed frame was a small metal support beam. Only about two and a half feet long, just short of the width of the mattress, and about two inches wide, the small support beam was also made out of relatively thin metal. John quickly dropped to the floor and slid himself underneath the bed looking at the small metal beam. He looked at both ends of the metal frame where the beam was secured. John noticed that it was not bolted to the bed frame, only welded. A slight smirk danced across John's face, he had found his weapon. John slid back out from underneath the bed frame,

"One's coming." Kyle said in a quiet tone as John quickly moved the mattress back into place. John sat on the bed as he watched the T-1 slowly roll past their cell. The second it was out of site he again lifted the mattress off the bed and leaned it against the wall. He then reached into the wire lattice work and unhooked one of the springs from the side of the bed. He quickly began to work on the wire, the spring itself was attached to, bending it back and forth multiple times, weakening the metal.

"What are you doing?" Kyle asked as he looked at John somewhat confused.

"You'll see." John replied. The metal fatigue became readily apparent after several seconds of bending and eventually the wire snapped off leaving John with a spring and approximately two and a half inches of wire with a jagged edge. John again replaced the mattress and waited for the patrolling T-1 to pass by. As soon as it had gone, John hit the floor quickly and slid under his bed. He then began to quickly scrape and whittle away at the welds holding the small thin center support beam to the bed frame. Kyle smiled slightly, thinking he now knew exactly what John was doing,

"Do I want to know where you learned how to do this?" Kyle asked quietly.

"No, you don't…" John responded in a slightly sarcastic tone as he watched as the welds on the metal began to chip away as he worked.

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Cameron sat quietly in her dimly lit cell. There was virtually no sound inside her room thanks to the solid steel door that separated her from outside world. While Cameron was certain that she would be able to defeat the lock on the door with ease, she was also certain that this would easily reveal what she was. She was also readily aware that she would be able to easily defeat several of the T-600's, T-70's or T-1's that were patrolling the area. However, she also knew that she would not be able to defeat all of them and in taking on so many it would again reveal what she was. In addition to that, John had told her to wait and that he would come for her. Cameron knew she could trust John; but, it still did not ease her anxiety for him. Cameron found that she was constantly fighting the urge to tear off the door and not allow anything to stop her until she had located John. Part of her wanted to believe that nothing would have been able to stop her; but, in her cold hard programming she knew that she was no match for all of the Terminators located at Century.

Cameron began to find that as time went on more horrifying thoughts were continuously finding their way into her mind. If her current situation continued Skynet would eventually discover exactly what she was. While these thoughts did bring disturbing images to her mind of what may happen to her, they were a distant second to her other thoughts of what would happen to John. Cameron knew that Skynet would have logged that she and John were captured and brought to Century Work Camp together. Cameron's concern for herself was completely overriden by thoughts of concern for what Skynet would do to John as soon as they discovered what she was. Cameron found that a very bizarre emotion began to come over her, one that she had not experienced before. This emotion was also one that she had not expected nor completely understood; but, none the less she found that it was very distasteful. It was a feeling of self loathing that pulled itself over her. Cameron knew that if she were an ordinary human Skynet would not think twice about the fact that she and John had been brought in together. But, the second Skynet discovered exactly what she was it would in turn go straight to John for what he knew about her as well. Cameron also feared that John would not easily, if at all turn over any type of information about her. But, she knew Skynet would not hesitate to use drastic measures to find out what he did know. These thoughts were almost to much for Cameron to bear, there was an almost panic stricken sensation that was creeping over her as she continued to sit there. The feelings of guilt and self loathing grew worse and worse inside of her. Cameron desperately searched her memory for something, anything, that would pull her back from the edge, then a particular moment in time occurred to her. A slight smile danced across Cameron's face as images from April 20, 2011 came to her mind. It was the day before Judgment Day, Cameron had been able to spend one day with John where it was just the two of them. No one knew who they were, why they were on that beach, or what events were to come. There were no immediate threats at hand, or missions to complete. It was just John and Cameron, there on the beach, together. Cameron felt that she could almost lose herself in the memory of that time as the events of that day rolled through her mind. She then began to feel a soothing sensation come over her. Cameron felt her anxiety begin to slowly subside as she laid back in her bed and continued to think of John.

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Authors Notes: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review! Review!


	44. Chapter 44

CHAPTER 44

Kyle worked steadily with the wire John had given him. He methodically worked away at the welds of the cross beam underneath the bed. Even though both he and John were exhausted from just being brought back from yet another 18 hour work day in the incinerator room they were also both determined not to stay at Century any longer than they had to. For John, thoughts of Cameron were even more of a reason to expedite their escape. He felt an almost constant anxiety for her safety as every moment of every day went by.

Kyle had found that for reasons that he could not describe or explain, he both trusted John and felt an instant bond with him. He wasn't exactly sure as to why he felt this way but the feeling was definitely there. In order to maximize their work efforts both Kyle and John had been taking turns watching for the Terminator patrols and working away at the welds on the small metal beam located under John's bed.

"One's coming…" John said, as he stood leaning up against the wall staring out into the walkway where a T-1 was patrolling. Kyle slid back out from under the bed and pulled himself off the floor. He then sat back down on the bed so as to conceal their efforts.

"So where did you grow up?" Kyle asked as the T-1 slowly rolled past their cell, as soon as it was out of site he slid himself back under the bed and began to work again.

"All over the place." John responded, "Here in the states, spent some time in Mexico, and in South America as well. Me and my mother moved around a lot." There was a certain somber tone in John's voice as he completed that sentence. For a reason that was unknown to him Kyle felt compelled to ask John another very specific question. In a slightly cautious tone he spoke again,

"Where was your father?" John immediately felt extreme uneasiness sweep over him. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that question. He had given so many different responses to so many different people as to what had happened to his father he had never really given much thought as to how he would answer that question when he was asked by his actual father. There was a moment of silence between the two, and then John spoke again. His tone was slightly gravely and there was obvious sadness in his voice.

"He died before I was born…He died in battle…He was a soldier." The conflict in John's voice was extremely apparent, along with his continued depressive tone. Kyle slid out from under the bed. For some reason he found that John's response saddened him more so than he originally thought it would have,

"I'm sorry to hear that." He responded in a solemn tone as he stood, preparing for the patrolling T-1 to come by yet again.

"So where did you grow up?" John asked, still attempting to fight back the emotions.

"Mostly here in California…Corona to be exact. After Judgment Day Derek and I moved around a lot trying to avoid the Machines. Every so often we'd hook up with a group of people. Usually those relationships didn't last to long though." There was a slight hint of sadness in Kyle's tone as he slid back under the bed and began to work. Once again Kyle felt the almost uncontrollable urge to ask yet another personal question of John. He was quite unsure as to why he felt this way; but, for some reason he was driven to learn more about John.

"So what was your mother like?" Kyle asked. Again emotions flooded over John, he found it difficult to try and think of the best way to describe his mother to his father. He also found that in this line of conversation it was becoming extremely difficult for him to conceal his emotions. Finally he spoke,

"She was strong, the best soldier I know actually. She taught me how to fight and how to survive." John's voice cracked slightly as he talked.

"Sometimes she could be distant, or down right harsh but…" John paused for another moment desperately trying to fight back his emotions. "I always knew she loved me."

"Sounds like she's a good woman." Kyle said as he continued to work, the strange curiosity still driving him.

"She was…" John said, again obvious grief in the tone of his voice. Kyle paused for a moment,

"She's gone too isn't she?" John cleared his throat trying to fight back the lump which was quickly beginning to form there.

"Yes...She died before Judgment Day." Kyle instant felt sympathy for John. But what he found stranger was the fact that he felt an obvious sadness upon hearing about the death of John's mother. This highly confused Kyle, while everyone left alive had some sort of sad story, for some unknown reason John's story felt completely different to Kyle. He felt a sadness in his heart for John upon hearing about his life. Normally Kyle would have stopped his line of questioning at this point for obvious reasons; but, something continued to drive him onward.

"What was her name?" Kyle asked in a solemn tone.

"Sarah…" John responded quietly. After speaking John hesitated for just another moment, he was almost nervous about what he was about to ask. An array of conflicting emotions came over John. So much so that he found he was almost afraid to speak; however, John forced himself to continue the conversation.

"Do you want to see a picture of her?" John asked his voice quaking slightly as he did. He still continued to try and conceal his emotions. Kyle slid out from under the bed and glanced out of the cell making sure that the T-1's were still not in view. He found he was strangely curious about Sarah. He was unsure as to why though. In any other circumstance he felt it would have been completely inappropriate to ask to see a picture of a friends dead mother. But for some reason in this situation it felt completely normal.

"Yes I would…" Kyle responded. John slowly reached into his back pocket and pulled out the old Polaroid picture of his mother. The one that she had told him had been taken while she was on her way to Mexico. The picture where she was still pregnant with John. He gradually handed it over to Kyle, who after taking it looked at it for several seconds. John noticed that a look of what appeared to be astonishment came across Kyle's face the instant he saw Sarah's picture. After several seconds Kyle finally spoke,

"She's beautiful…" There was a certain quietness in Kyle's voice as he responded.

"Thank you." John said, in a quiet tone. At this point Kyle felt an array of strange emotions come over him. While he had never met this woman, he felt that he was almost instantly drawn to her. A certain sadness crept its way over him knowing that he would never get a chance to meet her. Kyle slowly reached out to hand John the picture of Sarah back. There was a momentary pause between the two before John spoke again,

"You keep it…" he said in a slightly sad voice. Kyle was shocked and looked at John with a surprised look on his face that he would say such a thing.

"I can't keep this, it's a picture of your mother." Kyle responded. John continued to fight hard at concealing his emotions,

"You can give it back to me later...After we've escaped" He said, solemness still in his tone. Kyle thought for a moment. Again while at any other time he would have thought this was an extremely inappropriate thing to do, he found that he was almost happy that John was going to allow him to keep this picture. Kyle brought the picture back to himself looking at it for another moment.

"Thank you." He responded.

"You're welcome." John said as he nodded, still a hint of sadness in his voice.

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It had been several hours since Jackie had been taken from the cell she and Cameron were located in. Cameron continued to sit quietly in her room on her bed. Thoughts of John still continuously running through her mind. While at times such as these she tried to focus on either strategic planning or the more pleasant thoughts of John, idea's of what could be happening to him still managed to creep their way into her memory. Cameron found that feelings of anxiety for John's safety had become almost a constant for her. Just then she heard a loud clank from the door and she looked up. The large metal door slowly began to open with its metallic grinding sound. Once open Cameron saw a T-600 standing in the door way. She glared at it, feelings of disdain for it and Skynet flooding over her. Cameron continued to fight the urge to tear it apart and go in search of John. The T-600 proceeded to walk into the room dragging Jackie behind it by the arm. When it was mid way into the room the T-600's metal skeletal hand released its grip on Jackie's arm. Her limp upper body dropped to the floor quickly with a thud. The T-600 then turned and moved out of the room the metal door closing behind it as it did so.

Jackie lay motionless on her side on the cold concrete floor. She was no longer wearing the dark pants and button down shirt she had previously worn. She was now in a large off white, dirty, oversized shirt that would have hung down to just above her knee provided she were not lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Cameron recognized the shirt as one that Skynet often gave to its experimentation subjects. Again, uneasy feelings began to creep their way over Cameron as she remembered what had been done to her. She slowly stood from her bed and walked over to Jackie kneeling down beside her. She looked over Jackie's body trying to determine exactly what had been done to her. Cameron saw that there were burn's on Jackie's knee's, soles of her feet, and palms of her hands. Cameron reached out and touched Jackie on the shoulder,

"Jackie…" she said somewhat quietly but still putting a slight bit of concern behind the tone of her voice. Jackie remained motionless on the floor. After several seconds without a response Cameron began to wonder if Jackie was still alive. She proceeded to move her hand from Jackie's covered shoulder to her neck in order to allow her to scan for a pulse. The second Cameron's fingers made contact with Jackie's bare skin Jackie suddenly grabbed Cameron tightly by the wrist. Jackie took a large, long gasp of air. Her eyes instantly opened wide and she screamed a blood curdling scream as if in immense pain. Jackie's shriek echoed off the concrete walls inside the cell. If Cameron's ears had been able to ring due to the noise they would have been. Still holding tightly onto Cameron's wrist, Jackie began to weep almost uncontrollably. A strange uneasy feeling swept over Cameron as she knelt over Jackie. Thought's of her own torture and of what John may be going through continued to haunt her. Finally, after several more seconds of crying Jackie spoke,

"Cameron…" She whispered in a quivering voice.

"What did Skynet do to you?" Cameron asked still trying to obtain as much information about Century as possible. Cameron found that while Jackie's well being did matter to her, the primary goal of protecting John was still on the forefront of her mind. Jackie continued to lie on the floor crying. Her body shaking slightly as she did. After several more seconds Jackie responded,

"I don't know what they did to me." Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side confused. "We were in this huge room that was made out of all metal. There were generators everywhere and a large platform in the center of the room." Jackie paused for a moment, her breathing remained heavy and slightly labored. She was obviously still in extreme pain.

"I don't know what they did to me." She said again gasping slightly for breath. "There was a blinding light, and all I could feel was pain." Cameron could tell that either due to the pain or what Skynet had done to her, Jackie's thoughts were still somewhat jumbled in her mind. She appeared to have some trouble chronologically recalling the events that had occurred.

"They brought about a dozen of us into that room; but, only a few of us came out." Jackie grimaced in pain as she spoke, she attempted to fight back her tears to no avail. She then coughed several times almost gagging afterwards due to the immense pain she was in. Jackie then started to cry again. Cameron began to have a horrifying realization about what the Skynet experimentations could be. Sweeping feeling of apprehension came over her as Jackie continued to tell Cameron more. Jackie described streaks of electrical energy across the room and the massive amount of power that Skynet must have been using to conduct these experiment. The pain and feeling of weightlessness she described, and finally the burn marks. Cameron knew exactly what Skynet was doing. They were experimenting with time displacement.

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John lay in his bed, both he and Kyle had decided to take a few hours off and actually try to sleep. Yet, as exhausted as John was he still could not sleep. He lay on his side in his bed facing the wall, still trying to control his emotions. Thoughts of what could be happening to Cameron right now continued to torment him. Compounding his emotional stress even further was the fact that his father was lying just across the room from him. All of this together was almost to much for John to handle. Part of him was screaming to tell Kyle the truth; but, the more logical part was telling him not to, if for any other reason for Kyle's own protection. Then on top of that was Kyle's words of warning about Skynet's biological experimentations on people. John's observations of the bodies in the incinerator room became a constant reminder to him that Cameron indeed had very little time left before Skynet discovered exactly what she was. Horrifying thoughts began to creep into John's mind about the very real possibility that Skynet may have already discovered what Cameron was and what they could be doing to her at this very moment. John tried to fight off these thoughts but it was almost a futile attempt. Annoyed with himself for his apparent lack of ability to control his emotions, inability to sleep, and his anguishing thoughts, John tossed himself back over onto his other side. He glanced across the room at Kyle as he did so. What he saw was to much for John to handle. Kyle was quietly laying on his back in his bed. He had Sarah's picture in his hand held above his head. Kyle was studying Sarah's picture just like he had told John's mother he always did. John quickly rolled back over onto his other side towards the wall. He ground his teeth trying to fight off his emotions; but, the mental agony was to much for him. Tears had already begun to roll down his face even before he had been given the chance to turn away from Kyle. John lay there motionless, his back to his father while the tears streamed down his face. He stayed that way for the rest of the night trying desperately not to be heard by his father.

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Authors Notes: Okay a lot of emotional stress is building for both John and Cameron. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review! Review!


	45. Chapter 45

CHAPTER 45

"Every summer me, my brother, and my dad would go hiking at Mount Rainier. I always loved seeing the wildflowers out there." Jackie said as she continued to lay in her bed trying to both ignore and hide the extreme pain that was still coursing throughout her entire body. By this point in her existence Cameron had learned enough about humans to understand that many of them liked to talk or be talked to in times of physical pain, so she continued to sit quietly as Jackie spoke still allowing herself to act as human as possible. Jackie laughed slightly, but grimaced the second she did so, due to the fact that it caused her even further discomfort,

"Me and my dad would always make a game out of trying to see who could pick out and name the most wildflowers while we were there." Jackie kept a smile on her face as she spoke even though just about everything she did caused her physical pain,

"The Mapleleaf Currant was always one of my favorites. It has white petals that are speckled with purple dots, and purple petals within the white flowers." Jackie paused and looked over at Cameron, wincing slightly as she did so. "What's your favorite color?" Jackie asked then grimaced ever so slightly again after speaking. Cameron thought for a moment. No one had ever asked her this before nor had she ever really given it any thought. The question itself was very perplexing for her. She found it strange that there would be a need to even have a favorite color. Cameron understood that when it came to clothing certain colors and designs would compliment each other and that certain people, most of which had not survived Judgment Day seemed to base their entire lives around this principle; but, to actually have a favorite color was never something she actually put any thought into. However, Cameron did remember having a certain affinity for a purple jacket she once wore, but she was not sure as to why. After this brief moment of thought Cameron finally spoke,

"Purple." She said. Jackie smiled slightly,

"Mine too." There was then a moment of odd silence between the two. For both it almost felt as if they had disclosed a secret to each other. However, the silence was short lived as almost immediately after speaking there was a loud clank and the metal door in front of Cameron and Jackie began to slowly open again. A look of terror immediately streaked across Jackie's face as this occurred. A T-600 emerged in the doorway and walked over to Jackie's bed grabbing her by the arm and pulling onto the floor. Jackie didn't struggle however; more so because she did not have the energy to do so. She quietly resigned herself to go with the T-600 this time as it pulled her out of the room. Nevertheless, as she was being dragged through the doorway Cameron managed to see the look of horror in her eyes. While again Cameron knew that she could easily tear apart this one particular T-600 she also continued to know that the ramifications of doing so would be disastrous for both she and John. This however, did not help to subside the feelings of guilt that were beginning to creep their way over her as Jackie was dragged out of the room. Cameron felt that the emotions derived from this particular situation bore and eerie and unsettling resemblance to the emotions she felt shortly after she had killed Alison Young. Cameron desperately tried to fight off the emotions she was receiving from her role in Alison's death, Jackie's situation, and the nearly overwhelming anxiety for the danger John was currently in. She knew that if she continued to dwell on all of these emotions that she was experiencing for an extended length of time there was the possibility that her emotional state may begin to spiral out of control. Still, she found that it was all beginning to chip away at her resolve. The metal door closed behind the T-600 with a clank and Cameron was again left alone in her cell. She felt the anxiety for John grow even worse at this point. While Cameron primarily felt guilt for what was occurring to Jackie, her thoughts on John's safety reigned supreme and had become almost overpowering. As her emotions grew stronger she felt that their overwhelming nature may take hold. Cameron began to consider tearing the door off its hinges, revealing exactly what she was, and beginning to search for John. However, Cameron desperately fought these urges and persuaded herself that her trust in John was enough. She knew he would indeed come for her.

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John quietly tore a piece of fabric from his bed sheet. He glanced out into the corridor checking to make sure no Terminators were around and then he placed the piece of cloth up against the wall next to his bed. On his last shift in the incinerator room John had managed to locate pen on one of the dead bodies. He quickly began to scribble down information onto the piece of cloth. He worked quickly and continuously glanced out of the barred door of his cell making sure that none of the Terminators saw what he was doing. It took some time for John to complete his work; but, after awhile he felt that he had put enough information down on the cloth and he ceased writing. John turned and looked over at Kyle who appeared to have just woken up. John rolled the cloth up and held it in his hand,

"Do you know anyone here you can trust?" he asked Kyle who gave him a slightly confused look,

"The people that you said you've gotten to know here. Can you trust any of them." John continued. Kyle thought for a moment.

"There's this guy a few cells down from us, his name is David Jennings. I'm pretty sure we can trust him." John thought for a moment.

"Is he it, or are there others?" John asked, some urgency in the tone of his voice. He knew that they would soon be ushered out of their cells for another day of working in the incinerator rooms.

"There are several others, why do you ask?" Kyle responded. John handed the rolled up piece of cloth and pen to Kyle.

"Do you think you can get this to David the next time they take us out of here. I think it'll carry more weight if it comes from someone he knows like you." Kyle reached out and took the piece of cloth and then looked over what John had written on it.

"You're pretty crazy you know that?" He said with a slight smile on his face. "But I'll get it to him." No sooner had Kyle finished speaking than a loud buzzer sounded,

"I hate my job…" Kyle mumbled, as he stood from his bed. John saw several more T-1's and a few extra T-600's come walking into the long corridor of the cellblock just before the door to his cell began to open. The majority of the people began to file out of their cell's in an almost daze like fashion. The Terminators kept their weapons trained on everyone as they did this making sure that they moved quickly and quietly. Kyle walked just slightly faster than everyone else out of his cell and headed towards a shorter black male, with a muscular build and prepared to get in line behind him. As Kyle did this he made eye contact with David and flicked his eyes down towards his right hand. As the two walked in line Kyle quickly passed David the piece of cloth and pen that John had given him.

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John continued to work methodically in the incinerator room. Both the sight and smell of death continued to surround him and the only thing that allowed John to keep his sanity were the nearly continuous thoughts of Cameron. He lost himself in those very thoughts in order to keep himself under control. However, there was a downside to these images. John continued to know that with every passing second Skynet was getting closer to discovering exactly what Cameron truly was. John had surmised though, that if Cameron had been discovered Skynet would have quickly come to him for answers as well. Since this had not happened yet, this gave John a slight bit of comfort concerning Cameron's safety. Nevertheless this comfort was fleeting and far from substantial.

Just then something caught John's attention out of the corner of his eye up on the catwalks above him. He glanced up to see what appeared to be a human walking towards one of the T-70's. He was a younger black male that appeared to be in his twenties. The man also appeared to be relatively well nourished, unlike most of the other people in this place. He wore a gray jumpsuit and John found that there was something oddly familiar about him; but, John could not tell exactly what it was. After what appeared to be several seconds, John watched as the man turn and walk away from the T-70. John was well aware of the fact that in the future some humans did help the machines but this site still shocked and infuriated him. John felt the waves of anger sweep over him as he watched the black male walk further down the catwalk.

"Greys" John said quietly; but, with extreme hatred under his breath and through his clenched jaw as he continued to work. While John hated the machines, he found that there was an entirely different kind of and almost more extreme hatred for Greys. John understood machines, Skynet saw humanity as a threat and wanted to exterminate them, and the Terminators themselves did what they were programmed to do like any computer would. Save that is of course: John Henry, Catherine Weaver, and most significant of all to John, Cameron. But John was never quite able to understand why the Greys did what they did. He found it completely reprehensible that people would turn on their own species. Being forced into slave labor such as the kind that John and the others were in right now was one thing. But, as to the reason why someone would purposefully choose to destroy their own species escaped John completely. As John continued to load bodies onto the conveyor belt he felt his anger continue to rise. John knew that if he had his way he would kill everyone of the Greys without a second thought. John continued to work however fighting each second to hold back his emotions and remain calm. Again he allowed his thoughts to drift to Cameron in order to sooth himself.

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David Jennings sat back on his bed inside of his cell and slowly ran one of his hands over his head. He glanced out into the corridor quickly checking to make sure that none of the Terminators were near. He then unrolled the piece of cloth that Kyle had given him and began to look it over. At first glance he saw what appeared to be crude technical specifications of the T-1's, T-70's and T-600's along with a lists of some of their weaknesses and the best possible ways of disabling them. David raised his eyebrows slightly intrigued, he had never seen anything like this before. He then began to read the note below the technical details:

_You do not know me, but my name is John Connor. I write to you today to inform you that victory over the machines is not a dream but a reality. I write to you in hopes that when the time is right, and you will know when that time is, that you will stand with me, and fight beside me. For so long as there is a breath in my body I will not stand idly by as the human race is extinguished. So long as one human be imprisoned by Skynet I will not rest until they are free. For I say when war comes upon you draw your sword. For there is no fate but what we make for ourselves._

_Will you join us?_

A smirk came across David's face as he completed reading the note.

"Well, I always was one for supporting a lost cause." He thought to himself. David snapped his eyes out towards the jail corridor again checking for Terminators. Seeing that there were none in the immediate area he looked over at his cellmate who was looking at him with a curious look on his face. His cellmate had neck length brown hair which was slightly swept back, fair skin, and was somewhat thin. David handed the piece of cloth and pen to his cellmate

"You need to read this Bedell." David said in a serious tone. Martin Bedell looked over the note and David noticed a smile instantly come across his face after he read it. Martin reached over to his bed sheet and tore a section off of it. He then began to copy John's note and the technical details of the Terminators and their weaknesses onto his newly torn piece of cloth. After he was done copying the note John had written he rolled it up and put it into his pocket.

"We need to distribute these to as many people as we can." He said. David nodded his head in agreement.

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John continued to scrape away at the welds on the thin metal cross beam attached to his bed frame. Though it had only been a few days he and Kyle had made tremendous progress in their attempt to break the metal support beam free.

"I used to go to Griffin Park all the time with my brother to play baseball there." Kyle stated as he looked out the barred door watching for the T-1's which were still patrolling outside their cell. John ground his teeth trying to fight back his own memories of Griffin park and his emotions.

"You're an only child right?" Kyle asked still somewhat nonchalantly.

"Yeah…" John said quietly still fighting back his feelings which were bubbling inside of him almost uncontrollably. John slid out from under the bed and quickly moved to sit on top of it knowing that a T-1 would soon patrol by their cell.

"So what's this girl like?" Kyle asked.

"What?" John asked with a slight hint of confusion in his tone. Kyle thought for a moment before speaking again,

"Cameron…What's she like?" John felt a massive swell of emotions come over him. While thoughts of Cameron were indeed saving both John's sanity and his life, at the same time they tortured him as well. Not knowing where Cameron was, or if she was safe or not had become almost to much for him to bear. John's eyes glanced down at the ground slightly, forgetting for the moment that he should have been working now that the coast was clear. He cleared his throat slightly so as to ensure his voice would not crack and to fight back the lump that was now rapidly forming there. John then spoke in a very soft, quiet, and solemn tone,

"She's like no other woman I've ever met." A slight smile danced across John's face as he spoke about Cameron, "She's smart, courageous, brave, incredibly loyal, beautiful and…" John hesitated for a split second, then his smile faded and his voice grew sadder, "I probably wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her." John's voice trailed off a bit at the end of that sentence. Kyle was almost speechless from the description of Cameron John had just given him. After a few seconds Kyle spoke again in a somewhat quieter tone,

"No wonder you're so hell bent on getting her out of here, love like that only comes along once in a lifetime…" John smiled at Kyle's words, his cheeks blushing ever so slightly. There was another moment of silence between the two again. John then turned slowly glancing out of their cell. He watched as the T-1 rolled by them and then out of sight once more. John dropped down onto the floor and slid back under the bed and began to work once again.

********************************************************************************************************************Authors Notes: I hope everyone remembers Martin Bedell from season 2's "Goodbye to all that". Review! Review!


	46. Chapter 46

CHAPTER 46

"Right after Judgment Day Derek and I were in Griffin Park looking for food…" Kyle said with a certain sense of sadness in his voice. John immediately cringed as he continued to work away at the welds on the beam, knowing exactly where this story was going.

"Derek shot and killed a deer for food. I had never seen one before; at least not close up like that." Kyle paused for a moment before continuing to speak.

"Once we got close to it I started to cry. And for some reason I couldn't stop." Kyle paused for another moment, visibly shaken by the story he was telling.

"Derek did everything he could to try to get me to stop crying but nothing work. Finally he felt so bad for me he buried the deer." There was another pause,

"You both went hungry." John thought to himself before Kyle could speak.

"We both went hungry." Kyle finally said. John struggled to fight back his emotions as he attempted to focus on the task at hand. "I don't know why that story popped into my head." Kyle said laughing slightly, still trying to conceal his true emotions. "I guess sometimes I just miss my brother." John felt that his emotions were about to overpower him. He grabbed the small support beam under the bed in a desperate attempt to try and do something to take his mind off what was going on around him. He pulled as hard as he could against the beam. John seemed to be momentarily pouring out all of his sadness, anger, frustration, anxiety, and fear out onto this piece of metal. Suddenly there was a pop and the beam broke free nearly striking John in the face when it did so. Kyle turned and looked at John,

"Did you get it?" He asked.

"Yeah." John responded

"Good, now get back up here, there is a T-1 is coming." John quickly pushed the beam back into place as best he could and slid out from under the bed and quickly sat on top of it just as the Terminator began to roll by their cell. As soon as the T-1 disappeared from view, John immediately jumped up and flipped his mattress up against the wall. He quickly undid the springs that secured the metal latticework to the bed frame and leaned that up against the wall as well. He grabbed the now free side of the metal beam and began to bend it back and forth against the side that was still secured to the bed frame via the spot welds. As John worked he saw that the metal was beginning to fatigue relatively quickly and that it would soon break. Kyle kept a close eye out of their cell watching as the T-1 continued to patrol.

"You got about ninety seconds." Kyle said, still keeping vigil. John continued to bend the metal back and forth over and over again. John watched as the paint began to shatter and break away from the metal which was quickly nearing its breaking point. Just then, there was a second pop and the metal sheared away from the bed frame at about a 45-degree angle.

"Thirty seconds." Kyle stated. John quickly moved the wire latticework back into place and secured a few springs so that it would not fall through the bed frame. He quickly tossed the newly broken piece of steel on top of it and then moved his mattress back into place. John quickly sat back down on the edge of the bed frame so as not to fall through the loose wire latticework. The T-1 slowly patrolled by one more time and John again waited until it was out of sight before moving. Once it was gone, he quickly reached under his mattress and grabbed the piece of metal. John noticed after retrieving it that the piece of metal was actually longer than he expected it to be. It was approximately sixteen inches long from end to end but this was not a problem. John quickly moved over to the far end of the cell and knelt down. As quietly as possible, he began to slide the end that was sheared off at an angle up against the hard concrete floor. John was beginning to sharpen the end to a point.

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A loud buzzer sounded and David Jennings and Martin Bedell stood from their bed, both had pieces of cloth tucked in there hands, and a look of determination in their eyes. As they waited for the door to their cell to open they watched as, several more T-1's and T-600's appeared in the prison corridor right before their barred cell door began to slowly open. David and Martin stepped quietly out into the prison corridor and as they did this, they separated slightly from each other, ensuring that they would not be standing next to each other in the line that was beginning to form. As both individuals walked in line towards the exit to the cellblock, they quietly handed off their pieces of cloth to a few other men in line. John's notes were beginning to spread.

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The door to Cameron's cell slowly began to open and just as before she watched with hatred as a lone T-600 dragged Jackie into the room. Also, as before after it had entered the room it proceeded to drop Jackie's limp body onto the hard concrete floor with a thud. The T-600 then turned and walked out of the room and the door slowly closed behind it. Cameron walked over to Jackie and knelt down beside her. Jackie was extremely pale and the burn marks on her body appeared to be worse. There was also some blood running from her nose, as well as splotches of blood on Jackie's clothes and bear skin. Jackie was shaking almost uncontrollably and it was obvious that she was in immense pain.

"Cameron…" She whispered.

"I'm here Jackie." Cameron responded. Jackie groaned as she tried to look up at Cameron. Tears mixed with what could only be blood streamed down her face. Jackie's breathing was somewhat labored and she appeared to have trouble moving. Cameron carefully helped Jackie up off the ground and over to her bed making sure not to be overly helpful in order to conceal what she was. Jackie grimace in pain as Cameron moved her and almost shrieked when she tried to straighten her back out to stand. Finally, making it over to the bed Jackie collapsed into a crumpled heap onto the mattress. Tears still in Jackie's eyes she spoke again in an almost pleading tone of voice,

"Would you talk about something…please" Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side somewhat confused.

"Talk about something?" She asked.

"Anything, just to get my mind off the pain. Tell me about your childhood." Cameron felt a flood of uneasy emotions sweep over her. Heavily conflicted Cameron knew of only one response that she could give to this question. Instantly, she felt almost overwhelmed by guilt at the thought of what she was about to do. Her emotional state caused Cameron to almost feel as if she would not be able to speak. Nevertheless, she finally managed to force herself to do so,

"My father was an architect; he taught me how to draw. My mother was a music teacher; she'd sit for hours and listen to Chopin." Cameron's eyes began to slightly glaze over from the tears which were now forming in her eyes as the guilt continued to grow worse within her. Cameron's voice grew quieter as she continued to speak.

"The last birthday I celebrated with them was on July 22nd. I had a party in Griffin Park; my friends were there. I saw a boy ride by on a Solar Mountain Bike and I told my dad, "That's what I want", and he said, "Next Year"." Cameron paused momentarily trying fight back her emotions. Once again she began to doubt herself as to whether her emotions were her own or if this was her infiltrator programming taking action. Cameron continued,

"But I didn't have a party the next year…no one did." Cameron's voice trailed off as she finished speaking. She continued to sit quietly next to Jackie with tears in her eyes after finishing her sentence. The guilt continued to flood over her about what she had just done. Waves of conflicting emotions poured over Cameron and she felt almost frozen for the moment, not quite sure what to do or say. She had never wanted to speak of Alison again; but, here she was, yet again resurrecting the past life of a girl she had seen die twice before and both times because of her. A horrifying thought came through Cameron's mind. Would she be bringing this same fate onto John? This terrifying realization was almost to much for Cameron to bear. She began to try to think of something, of ANYTHING that may save John's life. This included turning herself over to Skynet and informing it of exactly what she was in a possible attempt to spare John's life. However, Cameron knew that Skynet would indeed spare no ones life and this would be a futile attempt.

A second thought then came to Cameron's mind, would it be better for her to ignore John's orders and attempt to rescue him herself? She quickly ran through calculations as to her chances of successfully completing a rescue attempt. Sadly, she knew the answer even before she began to process it. She would never be able to succeed due to the fact that she was so drastically outnumbered by Skynet forces. While Cameron knew that the walls around her could not hold her, she at this point truly began to feel trapped once again by Skynet. Her emotions, uncertainties, guilt, and human infiltrator programming once more began to wreak havoc on her. As her feelings continued to force their way over her, Cameron felt that she was reaching a breaking point. The strain that she was currently experiencing due to her separation from John was excruciating for her. Cameron's life was meaningless without John and she was completely unable to comprehend what she would do if something were to happen to him. Cameron always knew that she was willing to do anything to save John's life; but, at this time she knew of nothing that she could do to save him. Her emotions were nearly about to take control of her when suddenly Jackie gently placed her hand over Cameron's hand. She was quickly shaken from her daze and looked down at Jackie who was still lying on the bed, staring up at her with bloody tears in her eyes,

"I'm sorry Cameron." Jackie whispered in response to the lie Cameron had just told her. Cameron continued to look down at Jackie who had still not let go of her hand. Both individuals stared quietly at each other for another moment. Jackie's sincerity in response to Cameron's lie made an already unbearable situation feel even worse for her. Cameron fought with everything she had to conceal her emotions. As Cameron's struggle grew into an almost futile attempt a singular thought managed to break through into her consciousness. It was the night John had reactivated her after she had crashed the A.R.T.I.E. system. When he had done so there was a split second where she had felt John's hand gently caressing her face. Due to her memory disablement at that time Cameron truly felt that this had been the first time in her existence where she had ever experienced pleasure, while if only for a brief moment. The second she moved her head John withdrew from her. Nevertheless, in that brief moment in time Cameron had felt something that she would have previously never been able to describe. This lone thought forced her anxiety and fear levels to drop off, if ever so slightly, to a controllable point. The torrent of emotions subsided somewhat and Cameron was once again able to pull herself back from the edge. She allowed herself to garner enough strength to remain seated quietly on the edge of the bed next to Jackie for the rest of the night.

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John quietly sharpened the prison shank he had managed to create from the bed's support beam up against the cold concrete floor of his cell. He and Kyle both kept an eye on the outside corridor for oncoming Terminators.

"The T-1's wiring in the back of their shoulders; it controls their chain cannon's on either side of their body." John said, as he continued to sharpen the shank. Kyle turned and looked at him for a moment, still slightly intrigued that John knew this.

"There should be a blue and a green wire that runs the length of their shoulders. If you can break those two wires and splice them together it'll cause the gun on their right side to start firing." Kyle raised his eyebrows. He had never heard anyone talk about things such as this before.

"Just make sure you know where that gun is pointed before you start shooting." John said.

"How I am supposed to get close enough to one of those things to do that?" Kyle asked, a slight bit of concern in his voice.

"Let me worry about that." John said with a slight smile on his face. "But, suffice it to say there was a mistake made when the T-1 was built. Its CPU is located in their head; but, their power source is located in the main part of their body. Essentially, if you are able to take off their head their body will remained powered up; but, they will no longer be able to control anything they do. I think when the US government initially designed them they thought it would be a good idea for soldiers to be able to have access to the T-1's weapons if the unit itself was disabled. Works out pretty well for us also." John said, again with a slight smile as he stood and slid the shank under his mattress just before a T-1 slowly began to roll by their cell. At that moment John realized just how much Derek and Kyle had taught him in the alternate future, and how much he would need to teach the people of this future.

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A buzzer sounded and two more men stood from the beds located inside their cell. They both had a few pieces of cloth rolled up in their hands. Several T-1's and T-600's came into view in the corridor and then their cell door slowly began to open. Both men exited their cell and separated slightly from each other, walking to different points in the line that was forming towards the exit to the cellblock. As they did this both men quickly and quietly handed their pieces of cloth off to other men standing in line. John Connor's notes were continuing to spread.

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Authors notes: So John's notes are spreading, and he's teaching Kyle everything he knows. Hope you guys liked it. Review! Review!


	47. Chapter 47

Authors Notes: Thanks to Kaotic for helping me find the Summer Glau interview that helped to inspire a significant part of this chapter. You can read her interview here: w w w . c r a v e o n l i n e . c o m/entertainment/film/article/summer-glau-is-the-terminator-66573

I think you'll figure out pretty fast what part I used after you read the Chapter.

Also, I've made another "Movie Trailer" for this fan fic. You can view that here: w w w.y o u t u b e . c o m/watch?v=0BUfH3P4N90

(Sorry for the ridiculous spacing but Fanfiction would not let me post a hyperlink and kept deleting it)

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CHAPTER 47

John walked quietly in line back through the darkened corridors towards his cellblock. The corridors themselves were somewhat cramped, stuffy and hot. Feelings of anxiety for Cameron had started to flood over John once again; and even more so than before. It was becoming painfully obvious to him that she did not have much time left and unless he were able to do something soon Skynet would discover exactly what she was and he would lose her forever; and John had resolved to himself long ago that he would never allow that to happen again. Whether or not the situation was optimal, he was going to be forced into doing something, and doing it quickly. A sickening feeling came over John as several images of Cameron's torture flashed through his mind. John felt the rage and anger towards Skynet begin to grow within him. He could not, and would not let this happen to her again.

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Both John and Kyle quietly walked into their cell. As they did, John heard the metallic grinding sound of the door closing behind them. Although he was exhausted from all the work he had just been forced to do, the moment the machines were out of site John quickly retrieved the shank from under his mattress and moved to the corner of the room and began to work on it again.

"You need to see this John." Kyle said, with an unusually serious tone in his voice. John turned and looked at him, as he did Kyle handed John a dirty piece of cloth. Slightly confused, John took the cloth and unrolled it. He immediately felt a surge of confidence run through him.

"My friend David just got it back to me. Figured you'd wanna see it as soon as possible." A small smile shot across John's face as he looked over the note. It was a copy of the original note that he had written; but, something else had been added to it. John spoke out loud as he read the one sentence that had been added:

_We are with you…_

John looked over at Kyle.

"The next time they take us out of our cell, is when we'll make our move." Kyle nodded his head. Then a slightly arrogant smirk came across John's face.

"I think it's time we show Skynet exactly what we're capable of."

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Cameron sat alone in her cell once again. She continued to scan the room as she waited. Earlier that day a T-600 had come into her cell and retrieved Jackie once again. This time Cameron seriously doubted she would ever return. Cameron felt the fear begin to creep up on her as she realized that she may be next. And if she was next, John would surely follow. Just when the thoughts were almost to much for her to bear, she heard a "clank" and her cell door began to open. Cameron sat up slightly and readied herself for whatever may come while at the same time still trying to act as human as possible. As soon as the door finished opening a T-600 emerged dragging Jackie's limp body behind it. It yet again dropped her in the middle of the cell and then turned and walked out. As soon as the door was finished closing Cameron moved over to Jackie's body to check and see if she was still alive. Upon reaching her, Cameron realized that Jackie was indeed still alive but barely.

"Jackie?" Cameron said.

"Cameron…" Jackie's voice was barely audible. She coughed several times and struggled to breath. Jackie's lungs made a wheezing sound as she attempted to take a breath of air. Cameron observed bloody tears streaming down Jackie's face, which was almost completely white at this point. The burn marks on her body were more numerous now and far more severe.

"I can't see anything Cameron…I'm blind" Jackie whispered. She then paused for another moment before speaking once again, "I think I'm dying." Jackie said, her voice shaking with fear. Cameron gently lifted Jackie's upper body up into her arms.

"You need to fight Jackie, just for a little while longer. John said he would come for me, and he will help you as well." Cameron tone was somewhat mellow; but, there was a hint of concern behind it as well. Cameron however was not quite sure as to why she had just made this statement; she surmised that it was an attempt to comfort Jackie.

"Tell me about him." Jackie whispered, as she attempted to look up at Cameron with cloudy, hazel, eyes. "Tell me about John…" Cameron thought for a moment. For an unknown reason this simple question evoked an incredibly strong emotional response from her. Cameron remained quiet for several more seconds as images of John played before her eyes. She was not quite sure how exactly to describe what she was thinking or for that matter feeling; but, Cameron spoke anyways,

"I was so horrible before I met John…I did things…" Cameron voice trailed off slightly as she stopped herself from finishing that line of thought,

"But he gave me a second chance. When no one else in the world would have given me a second chance, he did." Cameron felt emotions coursing over her and she found it became slightly more difficult for her to speak. Her voice grew slightly quieter as she continued on,

"He rescued me…I don't know why, but he did. I wouldn't even be here today if it wasn't for him." A small smile came across Cameron's face as her eyes began to fill with tears as she continued to speak of John while still holding Jackie's upper body.

"He is such a wonderful man; John is so honorable, and courageous. I know he will accomplish so much in his life." Cameron hesitated again trying to fight back her emotions,

"My life would be meaningless without him." Cameron paused for another moment as she felt a tear run down her cheek. "I love him so much…" Cameron voice quaked as she finished her last sentence in a whisper; but, with a considerable amount of emotion behind it. Even though she was in excruciating pain a small smile danced across Jackie's face as she continued to look up at Cameron as she finished speaking.

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Kyle walked quietly and alone out of the his cell and towards a line that was forming towards the exit of the cellblock. As he walked into the formation he nodded at a few of the men that were already standing in line. After the line had finished forming a T-600 quickly and methodically scanned everyone's faces that were standing in front of it. Within a few seconds it was able to conclude that someone was missing from the group and after wirelessly searching the Skynet databanks it instantly ascertained who was missing and what cell they were located in. It turned quickly and began to head towards John's cell.

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John lay quietly in bed with his eyes closed, not moving at all. His bed sheet was pulled up over him close to his neck and he took small, shallow breaths so as to hide his breathing as much as possible. As John lay there he found that thought's of Cameron began to drift through his mind. All the years he had spent with her, all the experiences they had shared, and how he desperately wanted to spend the rest of his days with her. John heard the clanking of metal beginning to approach him; he kept his eyes closed still making sure to breath as shallow as possible. Cameron continued to linger in his thoughts, images of caressing her body, gently kissing her, holding her; it was all playing out in John's mind. The metal clanking continued to grow louder as the inevitable approached. John remembered how it felt to run his hands over Cameron's soft skin and what it was like to feel their bodies pressed up against each other. The metal clanking was almost on top of him now. Suddenly, and without warning, an image of Cameron's torture tore its way into John's mind. Almost as if she was standing next to him John heard Cameron scream in pain; his right arm tensed and he gripped the piece of steel tightly in his hand as anger and hatred began to completely consume him. Just then, John felt the bed sheet ripped back by the T-600 that was now standing over him. John quickly opened his eyes and in an instant he thrust his right hand forward towards the head of the Terminator. The shank in his right hand made contact with the right eye of the T-600 and John drove it forward with great intensity. He heard the glass and steel crack as he pushed the sharp piece of steel forward, forcing it through the skull of the T-600. John pushed the shank forward as far as he could into the orbital socket of the Terminator. The T-600 lurched back instantly away from John with the shank still protruding out of it's right eye. A split second later its legs buckled and it collapsed into a crumpled heap onto the ground. Its red glowing left eye faded quickly into a dark black hole.

"NOW!!!" John yelled from inside of his cell as he quickly leapt from the bed and retrieved the T-600's plasma rifle. There was almost instantaneous pandemonium in the corridor outside of John's cell. While some men fled in fear most leapt into action and threw themselves upon the T-1's and T-600's that were located closest to them. While the Terminators could easily overpower the human's they were also vastly outnumbered by them as well. There was an immediate eruption of Plasma and gunfire as all of the Skynet unit's began to open fire on the prisoners from every direction imaginable.

Upon retrieving the downed T-600's plasma rifle John immediately took aim at the closest T-1 that was within range. He raised the plasma rifle and squeezed the trigger. The plasma round streaked through the air and struck the head of the T-1 which exploded almost instantly into a display of sparks. Almost the moment this happened Kyle leapt onto of the body of the T-1 and began splicing wires together just as John had instructed him to do. John moved to the doorway and took aim at the T-70's that were located on the catwalks and began to fire at them striking one in the chest, almost immediately disabling it. All of the Skynet unit's fired frantically from all directions at the prisoners causing a deafening echo of gunfire inside the prison cellblock. At this same moment John heard the deafening drone of a chain Cannon ring out in front of him. Looking across from him he saw that Kyle had managed to get one of the T-1's mounted chain cannon's to fire. Kyle quickly moved over to the T-1's right arm and aimed the weapon up at the catwalks obliterating the T-70's that were above them, he then began to fire at the T-1's located in the immediate area around him. John as well turned his attention to one of the several remaining T-1's that were located out on the prison floor. Most were spraying the prisoners with the rounds from their chain cannon's; however, there were so many people inside the cellblock for the moment the T-1's were having trouble locking on to any one particular target. The amount of confusion in close quarters was almost confusing for them. John quickly took aim at one of the T-1's and fired, striking it in the back of the head. Again, its skull exploded and it instantly quit firing. John observed as yet another man jumped onto the T-1's body and begin to work away at the wiring in an attempt to operate the now available chain cannon.

John quickly turned his attention to the other remaining T-1's and the T-600's that were still located out in the corridor. He took aim at one T-600 in particular that was blanketing the prisoners with plasma rifle fire. John squeezed the trigger of his weapon and felt the recoil of it in his shoulder. The plasma round ripped through the air and struck the T-600 in the back. Its chest exploded outward and it fell to its knee's and then collapsed. Almost instantly its plasma rifle was picked up by one of the prisoner who began to shoot at whatever Terminator he was able to take aim at. John then looked and saw one of the remaining T-1's headed in his general directing continuously firing its chain cannon as it did so. With no time to take exact aim John fired several rounds in the direction of the T-1 striking it in its center of mass. The T-1 slowed to a halt disabled.

"Damn it!" John said, realizing that he had just cost the resistance a much needed weapon. John continued to fire his plasma rifle from the kneeling position inside his cell; but, was suddenly distracted for a split second by the crashing sound of an endoskeleton as it came careening down from one of the upper tiers of the cellblock. It crashed head first down onto the hard concrete floor, its body nearly shattering on impact. Unfortunately, it had taken two prisoners with it as it was heaved over the guard rail. The prisoners bodies met with the same fate as the T-600's body did. The entire cellblock was now in complete chaos. John took a moment to quickly reach over to the body of the T-600 which was still lying next to him and yanked the shank from its right eye. He then pushed the shank into the side of the Terminators left orbital socket removing its glass eye with a "pop." He then grabbed the now loose eye that was only attached by a few wires and yanked it free. John then proceeded to slide the glass eye into his right pocket. He then placed the shank into his back pocket. Suddenly John ducked as several plasma rounds struck the door frame of his prison cell very close to his head. He heard alarms going off and he knew any second Skynet reinforcements would be on top of them. As quickly as possibly John rolled the body of the T-600 over and using the butt of his plasma rifle he struck the T-600's back left side. A small compartment opened from the left abdominal cavity of the Terminator revealing two extra plasma rifle magazines. John retrieved them quickly and moved back towards the doorway.

The entire cellblock was becoming littered with the bodies of both humans and Terminators. As John carefully made his way through the doorway of his cell he noticed Kyle jumping off the body of the T-1 he had recently been shooting from. It had apparently run out of ammo at this point. John swiftly retrieved the plasma rifle from the crumpled remains of the T-600 that had been thrown to the ground by the prisoners above him,

"KYLE!!" John yelled as he tossed the plasma rifle to his father who caught it with ease. The sound of men screaming and weapons being fired echoed off the concrete walls inside of the cellblock along with the deafening drone of the alarms. John moved closer to Kyle, still firing his plasma rifle as he did so.

"You're with me!" John shouted as he began to move towards the exit of the Cellblock and the computer terminal located next to it.

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Cameron knelt on the floor of her cell still holding Jackie's upper body. The alarm sounds echoed outside her cell and she observed several Terminator units begin to move around quickly outside of their cell presumably towards the other cellblock.

"He's coming for you." Jackie whispered to Cameron with a slight smile on her face. Cameron looked down into Jackie's eyes. Almost immediately after finishing her sentence Cameron felt Jackie's body go limp and her cloudy hazel eyes now became hollow and lifeless. Cameron sat their momentarily staring down at into Jackie's eyes. Strange emotions came over her as she did this. Jackie had seemed to go through a similar experience as Cameron had with Skynet, the difference however being that she had not survived and Cameron had. Feelings of sadness and remorse pulled themselves over Cameron. However, something far more disturbing found its way into her mind, it truly did seem that everywhere she went Cameron brought death with her. Once again the same haunting question that plagued Cameron before forced its way into her thought process,

"Will I bring this same fate to John?" She thought to herself once again as fear for John's safety began to grip her. Cameron remained motionless still holding Jackie's upper body as she thought on these things. After several moments, Cameron finally moved. She slowly lifted Jackie's body up off the ground and brought it over to her bed. She laid the lifeless body down onto the mattress and Cameron gently reached over and closed Jackie's eyes with her hand. She then pulled the bed sheet up over Jackie's body.

"I'm sorry." Cameron whispered. An eerie silence fell over Cameron's cell and only the sound of the alarm could be heard echoing throughout the area as Cameron stood quietly next to Jackie's body.

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Plasma fire exploded around the exit to the cellblock as John worked quickly at the computer. Kyle remained at John's back, firing repeatedly with his plasma rifle trying to take as much cover as he could from the overhang that protruded out from the wall above both of their heads. The entire cellblock was beginning to fill with smoke from plasma rifle and chain cannon fire. The smell of burnt flesh and blood hung in the air as thousands of people fought against the Skynet units that were left in the area. While vastly outnumbered the Terminators were still easily able to tear through most of the unarmed humans.

"I hate to rush you, but we're not gonna last much longer!" Kyle shouted to John over the deafening sounds of the battle. John pressed the eye of the T-600 up against the retinal scanner of the computer screen and there was a beep.

"Got it!" John said.

"You unlocked the door?" Kyle asked.

"No, I locked it." John said, as Kyle's eyes widened slightly.

"You did what!?"

"The only thing on the other side of that door is more metal and I need to know where we're gonna go first before we get out of here." Kyle shook his head slightly in disbelief as he continued to fire his rifle.

"And where are we gonna go first!?" Kyle asked still yelling over the battle noises. John quickly scanned over the computer screen studying the layout of Century. At this same moment Kyle saw a young male running towards them from across the cellblock. Kyle took aim with his plasma rifle and began to fire at the Terminators that were near him trying to give the man some covering fire. Every time a Terminator fell someone would pick up its weapon and begin using it. While the prisoners were sustaining heavy casualties they were by shear volume alone able to hold their own against the Skynet forces; for the time being at least. The young male ran past Kyle and straight to John.

"I sure as hell hope you have a plan Connor." he said. John glanced over at him with a slightly confused look for a moment as to who was questioning him, then a smile came across John's face.

"Good to see you too Bedell." John continued to scan the computer screen. "There's an armory about 200 feet from here. If we can get to it and get these men armed we have a chance at getting out of here." John turned to Martin, "We need to get you a weapon."

"You wanna help me out with that?" Martin said, somewhat sarcastically. John turned to the computer terminal hitting a few more keys.

"I've locked down all the doors in this place except for the ones leading to the armory; I've also managed to disable most of Skynet's wireless network inside of Century; for the time being at least. Each machine should now be functioning on their own and will not be able to communicate effectively with each other or with Skynet. But, I'm not sure how much metal will be between us and the armory or how long it will be before their wireless network is back up."

"Something tells me we're about to find out!" Kyle yelled over his shoulder still firing his plasma rifle. John hit a few more keys and there was a clank and the exit door to the cellblock swung open almost immediately. At this same moment John raised his plasma rifle and at that instant a T-600 emerged through the doorway. John fired striking the Terminator in the head. It then fell forward onto the ground. John swept across the open doorway firing continuously. As he did so he struck another T-600 that was close behind the first one. Martin retrieved the plasma rifle from the now disabled T-600 that was lying in front of him.

"Thank you!" He yelled to John.

"No problem!" John responded. Both John and Martin began to fire down the hallway from opposite sides of the exit doorway where they were standing at. Due to the somewhat cramped nature of the corridor leading to the cellblock the Terminators had difficult avoiding being struck and were almost to the point of being forced back by John and Martin's barrage of plasma fire. Sounds of men screaming and gunfire continued to echo throughout the cellblock as the battle continued to rage on.

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David Jennings fired his plasma rifle from behind the cover of one of the disabled T-1 units. Several other men were ducked down next to him as he tried to pick off the Terminators located closest to him. He watched as yet another T-600 was thrown from one of the top tiers of the prison. It came crashing to the ground its endoskeleton splintering as it made contact with the concrete floor. Almost immediately someone ran by picking up the Terminators plasma rifle. David looked over near the exit where John was located and observed John, Martin and Kyle begin to slowly make their way through the open exit door. David looked around at the men who were crouching around him,

"Lets go! We're out'a here!" He yelled. David and his group began to make their way towards the exit as well. As more men noticed that the exit door was open they also began to make their way towards the open door.

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Authors Notes: So the long awaited battle for Century has begun. Review! Review!


	48. Chapter 48

CHAPTER 48

John, Kyle, Martin and several other men moved quickly, but cautiously down the cramped and dimly lit corridors in the direction of the armory. John kept his rifle raised as he scanned the area in front of them for any threats as they continued to move. John and his men had continued to meet with Skynet resistance as they fought their way to the armory; however, while Skynet seemed well prepared for an actual physical fight with humanity it did not appear to be as well prepared for a computer infiltration the likes of which John had been able to do. It appeared that in this brief instance Skynet may have underestimated what the humans could do. While the Skynet systems were still very complex, once John had actually managed to break through the initial barriers that Skynet had set up it had become relatively easy for John to manipulate the in inner workings of key systems inside of Century Work Camp. John credited his vast knowledge of Skynet systems to the six months he had spent in the alternate future and the large amount of knowledge that John Henry had managed to impart to him before his disappearance. In addition, the information that Cameron had provided to him had been invaluable as well.

John came to a sharp turn in the corridor and stopped before proceeding around it. Mentally reviewing the blueprints in his mind John was relatively certain that the armory would be just around this corner. While sounds of the battle continued to echo behind him as the remaining Terminators from the cellblock attempted to fight their way through the escaping prisoners, the path ahead of John seemed eerily quiet. John carefully peeked his head around the corner seeing two T-600's and a T-70 guarding the door to the armory. John turned to Kyle and Martin who were immediately behind him and gave them a few hand signals indicating the number of enemy Terminators he had just seen. Martin quickly relayed the information to the rest of the men down the line. John thought for a few seconds as to how to best handle this situation; but, there was really only one solution he could come up with at the moment. He motioned for Kyle who came up along side him and knelt down. John looked at him and mouthed the words,

"One…Two…Three!" John and Kyle leaned out from behind the corner and began to fire their plasma rifles at the enemy Terminators. John's first few rounds struck the T-600 to his far left and it lurched backwards falling onto its back. One of Kyle's rounds struck the T-70 standing in the center of the doorway in the knee and it crumpled to the ground but remained upright and began to fire its chain cannon mounted on its arm. The remaining T-600 opened fire on John and Kyle at this same moment. Both men ducked behind the corner as the area around them began to explode due to the plasma fire.

"Now what?" Kyle asked. John thought quickly as he heard the T-600 begin to move down the corridor towards their position still firing its plasma rifle in their general direction. John removed his only remaining fully loaded plasma rifle magazines from his pocket.

"I hope to hell this works." He said, as he slid the magazine across the floor, then quickly raised his plasma rifle and fired at the magazine. The explosive material from the high heat rounds exploded and tore through the thin metal magazine covering with a loud bang. This distracted the T-600 for a split second and John leaned out from behind the corner and fired another plasma round striking the T-600 in the chest. It stumbled backwards and collapsed. John quickly moved back behind the corner as the T-70 began to fire again at him. After several seconds of firing John heard the chain cannon stop shooting. Kyle quickly leaned out from the corner still in the kneeling position and fired striking the T-70 in the shoulder. It lurched backwards firing its weapon wildly into the air, its rounds struck the ceiling creating a display of sparks that rained down into the corridor. John came around the corner quickly and fired several more consecutive rounds striking the T-70 in the chest. It then collapsed backwards onto the ground. John, Kyle and the rest of the men moved forward towards the armory door. When they reached it John quickly began to work away at the computer console located next to the door.

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Cameron stood quietly in her cell, still listening to the alarms sounding outside. She debated if now would be the appropriate time for her to make an escape from her cell; however, she had no way of knowing if John was in fact behind this current situation, or where he was. Attempting to escape now could still possibly put his life in danger. Making matters worse was the fact that there were still several lingering T-600's outside. While she was relatively certain that with the element of surprise she would be able to take on several unarmed T-600's Cameron knew she was no match for several fully armed T-600's. Cameron also noticed something else that was unusual. While she looked out of her cell she noticed several Grey's running about inside of the cellblock. She was unsure of exactly what it was they were doing; but, Cameron was quite certain they would only make the situation worse. She continued to stand quietly in her cell staring out of the small glass window which was located on the large steel door. As Cameron did so she began to run through scenarios as to a possible rescue or escape attempt that she would be able to perform.

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John, Kyle, and Martin began to hand weapons out to as many of the men as they could. The armory room itself was quite large and therefore allowed for a good number of prisoners to get inside of it. While it's primary compliment of weapons consisted of plasma rifles and ammo for the T-600's and chain cannons for the T-70's and T-1's there were a number of other weapons available such as shoulder fire rocket launchers, and grenades. As the prisoners continued to arm themselves John began to work quickly away at another computer terminal inside of the armory. He frantically scanned through computer files and searched through Skynet records. Kyle saw what he was doing and walked over towards John as Martin continued to hand out weapons.

"John what are you…" Kyle was cut off by John,

"I found her."

"Cameron?" Kyle asked.

"Yes." John said in both a serious and concerned tone. He looked around for a moment and then saw Martin who was still handing out weapons to the crowd of prisoners within the armory.

"Bedell, get over here!" John called. Martin immediately jogged across the room towards John.

"What have you got?" he asked.

"I need you to take these people out of here. I've got the schematics for this place pulled up on here…" John motioned to the computer screen "…and I've still got Skynet locked out of controlling its own doors, and their wireless system is still down, all be it temporarily. It'll be difficult; but, you should be able to make it out of here without to many problems. Make sure to take some missile launchers with you, once you're outside you may have some trouble with whatever remaining aerial HK's Skynet has in the area." Martin nodded his head and then gave John a strange look.

"Uh, where are you gonna be?" he asked.

"I have to find…" John paused for a split second then continued, "…a friend." John said as he turned to walk towards one of the exit doors.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Martin asked with a look of concern on his face.

"I can't lose her…not again" John replied as he again turned to walk out.

"John wait…" Kyle said. John stopped walking as Kyle spoke. "I'm going with you." He said. John hesitated for a moment not quite sure how to respond. While he did not want to put his father in any further danger, John knew that he would indeed need Kyle's help.

"Alright." John responded as he turned once again towards the exit.

"Good luck Connor." Martin said, concern still apparent in his voice. John locked over his shoulder as he walked and spoke in a solemn tone, "Thank you." John and Kyle proceeded out of one of the armories exit doors; cautiously making their way towards Cameron's cellblock.

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John and Kyle continued to make their way down the prison corridors moving as quickly as possible towards Cameron's cellblock. John was both surprised and concerned by the fact that they did not seem to be running into much resistance as they continued their way down the dimly lit hallways. While John knew that he had managed to lock Skynet out from controlling some of its systems and therefore clear the path it still appeared to be all to easy.

"How much further?" Kyle asked.

"Just around the next bend." No sooner had the words left John's mouth than two T-600's emerged from around the corner. John and Kyle both raised their rifles and began to fire; the T-600's did the same. The corridor erupted into a flurry of plasma rifle fire as both John and Kyle took cover on opposite sides of the corridor behind support beams located on the walls. John rapidly fired his Plasma rifle down the hallway, which quickly began to fill with smoke from the tiny explosions the plasma rounds were causing. Suddenly, a plasma round exploded against the support beam just above John's head, sparks and hot metal fragments struck John in the face. John let out a slight scream of pain as he ducked behind cover again trying to wipe his face clean of the debris. At this same moment Kyle leaned out and fired his rifle striking one of the T-600's in the chest. It collapsed with a loud clank as its metal knees struck the steel floor it then fell forwards onto the ground. Recovering himself, John leaned back out and fired several rounds down the hallway striking the T-600 in the shoulder twice and then in the chest. The Terminator spun around from the impact and then collapsed to the ground. John quickly moved from behind the beam which he had taken cover behind,

"Let's go we don't have a lot of time." He said. John and Kyle moved around the bend in the corridor and came to the locked door leading to Cameron's cellblock. John quickly began work away at the computer, and using the stolen Terminator's eye he was able to gain access to Skynet's systems yet again. Within moments John had unlocked the door. It slowly opened in front of them revealing a much smaller version of the cellblock that he and Kyle had been housed in. However, almost the second the door was opened John and Kyle met with instantaneous plasma rifle fire. Both men pushed up against the wall somewhat concealing themselves behind the door frame for cover. John was surprised to see that there were only five T-600's located in this cellblock. The rest of the plasma fire was coming from humans.

"Greys" John thought to himself. At this time Kyle had not been able to take an exact count of Terminators that were located inside the cellblock. He was more shocked and angered by the appearance of the Greys. Still at the door frame John continued to work at the computer console attempting to unlock all of the cell doors that were located inside of the cellblock. John was eventually able to open one particular program that would allow him to open all of the cellblock doors at once; however, he hesitated in doing so because he knew that if anyone were to come out of their cell at this moment they would almost surely be killed. John begged to Cameron in his mind not to make any type of overt movement to escape from her cell due to the present situation.

Kyle leaned out from behind the doorframe and fired striking a T-600 in the shoulder. It lurched backwards but continued to fire.

"Fuck'n Greys!" Kyle yelled across the hall to John who ground his teeth as he felt the rage creep up over him as he watched the Greys scurry about like rats inside of the cellblock. He leaned out from behind the door frame and fired several more rounds at one of the Greys located near one of the T-600's. He struck the man in the chest killing him almost instantly. John glanced around the cellblock one more time being careful how long he kept himself exposed. What he saw horrified him. On the two upper levels of the cellblock John noticed that the Greys were going cell to cell executing the prisoners.

"Son of a bitch!" John said. John knew that Cameron and the rest of the prisoners did not have much longer.

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Cameron stood silently in her cell. She could hear the furious exchange of plasma rifle fire going on just outside of her door. She was relatively certain that if anyone had been able to last this long in a conflict against Skynet and had also been able to get this far, it had to be John. An incredible amount of conflict began to come over Cameron. While John had ordered her to remain concealed until he came for her, she also felt an overwhelming desire to find John so that she would be able to protect him. An internal struggle within Cameron began to ensue as her programming to protect John began to compete with her programming to follow John's orders. Cameron felt her emotions swell as the seconds slowly went by. Finally, the idea that John could be in some type of danger began to consume her and Cameron felt that she could no longer stand it.

Almost as if she were not able to control herself Cameron moved over to the large steel door that was located at the front of her cell. Cameron brought her fist back and with an extreme amount of force and struck the door as hard as she could. There was a loud thud that could be heard both inside of her cell and on the outside. However, due to the firefight the noise she was making was not immediately noticed by anyone or anything. After the impact Cameron studied the door for a moment and noticed that there was now a large dent where her fist had been. But, she also found that she was slightly surprised, the door itself was stronger than what she had initially anticipated. It would take her longer than she originally thought to break through this door. This did not matter however, Cameron felt that she had to find John, no matter the cost. She brought her fist back again and struck the door a second time producing another loud thud that echoed inside of her cell.

"I have to find him…I have to protect him." Cameron thought to herself as she continued to strike the door.

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John looked over at Kyle who was quickly changing magazines on his plasma rifle.

"I need you to stay here and when I tell you to; open all the cellblock doors." Kyle looked over at John.

"Where are you gonna be?!" He yelled over the sound of plasma rifle fire.

"I'm gonna distract them." John said as he removed a grenade from his belt, "Cover me!" He yelled as he pulled out the grenade pin and threw it into the prison cellblock. After several seconds there was a loud explosion and John heard several of the Greys howl in pain as they were struck with shrapnel from the fragmentation grenade. As John moved quickly through the doorway Kyle began to fire rapidly trying to provide some covering fire. As soon as John was inside the cellblock he immediately noticed that the grenade had managed to kill a few of the Greys that were standing on the bottom floor along with destroying one of the T-600's.

As John ran in a diagonally pattern towards the cells located on the far wall he ducked as plasma fire began to explode around him. He managed to make it to one of the stairwells that lead to the upper tiers of the cellblock. While it did not provided him with much cover due to its open design it did provide John with some cover. He ducked behind the steel staircase as the plasma round continued to explode in the area immediate around him. He watched as Kyle fired furiously from the doorway as well managing to strike and kill yet another Grey. John could see from where he was at that there were still several Greys left and four T-600's; one of which was damaged. John knew that the longer he waited the more prisoners were going to be killed by the Greys on the upper tiers. John took a chance and sprinted up the stairwell to the second tier of the cellblock. The open metal stairwell he ran up seemed to explode from plasma fire as his feet moved from step to step.

Upon reaching the second level of the cellblock John immediately noticed two Greys methodically working their way down the row of cells, shooting whoever was inside. John felt the furry sweep over him as he raised his rifle and fired. The round streaked through the air and struck the first Grey in the head killing him instantly. The second Grey turned towards John and raised his rifle to fire; but, it was too late. John fired off several more rounds striking the man in the chest. He also fell to the ground dead. John then proceeded to position himself so that he could fire down on the four T-600's that were located below him on the cellblock's bottom floor. However, when John did this he immediately noticed that he could now only see two of the four remaining T-600's. John was unsure of where the other two were at this point. He then leaned over the railing slightly and began to fire down on the two Terminators that he could see and the Greys that were below him. He was able to strike one of the T-600's in the upper shoulder. The plasma round tore through the main body of the T-600 and it fell to the ground disabled. Distracted for the moment the remaining T-600 turned its attention towards John. When it did this Kyle fired several rounds from his position striking the T-600 in the chest destroying it. Kyle however, still faced an onslaught of plasma fire from the remaining Greys. He also could not see where the two remaining T-600's had gone.

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Kyle continued to fire from the doorway on the bottom floor while John made his way up to the third level of the prison. Just before John reached the top of the staircase one of the Greys emerged from around the stairwells corner with a plasma rifle at the ready. John fired several rounds striking the man in the shoulder and then the chest killing him instantly. As John reached the top of the staircase he was tackled by the remaining Grey that had been left on the third floor. Both the Grey and John stumbled backwards into the stairwell. Loosing his footing John fell backwards down the stairs. However, before he did so, he managed to grab onto the Grey by his jumpsuit taking the man with him. Both individuals tumbled down the stairwell to the second level of the cellblock and hit the ground hard. John felt a sharp pain shoot through his left shoulder, it quickly brought back memories of the battle he had been involved in at Topanga Canyon. John grimaced in pain as he tried to ignore the sensation. At this same moment John also noticed that due to the fall both men now did not have their plasma rifles. John's was located at the top of the stairwell and he wasn't quite sure where the Grey's weapon had landed. This however, was not the biggest of John's concerns at the moment. The Grey had managed to land on top of John and now began to beat John with his fists.

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Cameron pealed back the metal door with a loud metallic tearing sound as she forcibly began to open the door. She heard a loud pop as the metal latched located inside the door snapped and the door broke free. Pulling the door back she prepared to step out into the corridor; but, before she cleared her cell's door frame she saw the barrel of a plasma rifle being pointed at her. The two remaining T-600's had heard the noise she had been making and had come to investigate. Being that the closest T-600 was virtually on top of Cameron at this point and was also just starting to step inside her cell, Cameron knew exactly what she could do. Almost as if in a flash, Cameron brought her right hand across her body grasping the barrel of the plasma rifle and pushed it out of the way to her left. At this same moment Cameron twisted her upper body to her left and out of the way of the line of fire. The T-600's plasma rifle discharged and a plasma round streaked through her cell striking the back wall. Cameron then rapidly brought her left hand up under the T-600's arm and grasped it by its wrist momentarily immobilizing the Terminators right hand with which it held the plasma rifle. Cameron released the barrel of the plasma rifle with her right hand and then with lighting speed proceeded to bring her arm back towards her body in a circular pattern and then back around underneath the T-600's arm. She then grasped what would have been the tricep of the T-600. Cameron now had hold of the Terminator's wrist with her left hand and the underside of the Terminator's upper arm with her right hand. In an instant she forced her left hand down while at the same time bringing her right hand up. There was a loud crack and then a metallic tearing sound as Cameron tore the right arm completely off of the T-600, sparks flew from the socket where the arm had once been. Cameron twisted the plasma rifle around and as she did so she pulled the metal skeletal fingers from the pistol grip of the rifle. She then moved her right hand to the pistol grip and brought the weapon to her for a brief instant. Now having full control of the plasma rifle she quite forcefully pushed the barrel of the rifle into the mouth of the T-600 forcing it back out the door of her cell. If it were possible for a T-600 to exhibit any type of emotion this one would have been in a sheer state of shock by what Cameron had just done to it. Cameron squeezed the trigger of the plasma rifle and a round discharged at point blank range inside the mouth of the T-600. Tearing through the Terminator's skull the plasma round completely blew the T-600's head off in a large display of sparks and steel. The T-600's knee's instantly buckled and it collapsed to the ground.

Cameron was just about to step out of her cell when the second T-600 which had been standing to the left side of Cameron's cell pushed her plasma rifle into the door frame with its left hand. There was a loud crunching sound as the internal works of the firearm began to be crushed together by the force of the T-600's grasp. It then brought its right hand around and attempted to point its plasma rifle at Cameron, who quickly released her right hand from her rifle and grasped the frame of the T-600's plasma rifle. She slammed the rifle up against the door frame bending the metal rifle and nearly breaking it in half. As soon as this occurred the T-600 struck Cameron in the chest with its left hand knocking Cameron back into her cell and onto the ground. The T-600 then virtually leapt into the cell with Cameron and was instantly on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Cameron caught the right hand of the Terminator as it attempted to strike her; but, was instantly grabbed around the neck by the Terminator's left hand. She began to feel a tremendous amount of pressure begin to be applied to both her neck and up into her skull. The T-600 was literally attempting to tear Cameron's head off. She grasped the T-600's left hand with her right and began to try to pull it off of her. However, due to the position Cameron was in it was now far more difficult for her to overpower the T-600. Cameron was unsure if she would actually be able to escape from the Terminator's grasp.

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Kyle remained pressed against the door frame for cover as he continued to fire his plasma rifle from his position. He paused momentarily, dropping the empty magazine out of his rifle and replacing it with a fresh one. While he had managed to kill off several more Greys a few still remained. Kyle had also found that he had completely lost site of the remaining T-600's. He was completely unsure at this point if they had fallen back to a better position or had been recalled to another location by Skynet. Kyle also saw that John was locked in a hand-to-hand battle with one of the Greys on the second tier of the cellblock. Unfortunately, Kyle was not able to get a clear shot at the man that was fighting with John due to his current position. For the moment John was on his own.

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John felt the fist of the Grey strike his face from the left side causing pain to travel across his skull from the impact. John could feel the blood begin to run down his face due to the laceration the man's blow had just caused. Lying on his back John brought his right knee forward striking the man in the back forcing him to arch his back slightly. John then rapped his right leg around the man's neck and pulled him away and down towards the ground. John was then able to pull himself away from the man and stood to his feet. He continued to feel his left shoulder throbbing due to the pain from the impact on the ground. At about this same time the Grey also stood. The second John got a better look at the man he recognized him instantly. It was the Grey John had seen earlier in the incinerator room. But, John also realized where the familiarity came from. Horror shot through John as he spoke,

"Danny?!" John said still feeling shock flood over him. Danny Dyson gave John a curious look for a moment and then smiled,

"John Connor…If I knew you were here I would have had Skynet tear you apart." Both shock and anger gripped John as both men continued to stare at each other.

"Danny how could you do this?!" John asked, apparent shock still in his voice.

"What do you mean how could I do this. YOU and your MOTHER killed my father!" Danny yelled with hatred.

"We didn't kill your father! He died trying to stop all this!" John responded.

"Liar!" Danny yelled as he rushed towards John swinging his fist at him. John ducked under Danny's arm and struck him in the rib cage with his fist. Danny doubled over from the impacted and John grabbed him by the back of the head and forced his head downward. As he did this John brought his knee upward smashing it into Danny's face. When this occurred Danny stumbled backwards, still doubled over due to the pain.

"Danny you can't do this. Your father never would have wanted this." John said, as conflicting emotions tore away at him.

"You have no idea what my father wanted!" Danny responded, as the blood began to stream out of his nose from the impact with John's knee. John could hear the plasma rifle fire echoing off the walls and he knew that he had no time for this type of encounter, Cameron, Kyle and the other prisoners time was rapidly running out. Danny screamed and rushed towards John again. At this point John had, had enough and decided that it was time to end this fight. As Danny ran forwards John reached behind his own back with his right hand. Almost on top of John, Danny swung at him. John blocked his strike with his left hand which instantly caused a shooting pain to travel through his left shoulder again. John ignored the pain, and drew his shank from behind his back with his right hand and quickly brought it up between the two men. With a great amount of force John drove the shank upwards into Danny's jaw, and further into his skull. There was a loud crack and Danny instantly dropped to the floor dead. John stood silently over Danny's body for a moment still shocked by what had just occurred. He stared down at the lifeless body and felt sadness rush over him; but, the noise of plasma rifle fire quickly pulled John from his trance and he turned and ran up the stairs to the third floor retrieving his rifle. He then began to shoot down at the remaining Greys left on the cellblock floor. From his now high vantage point John was easily able to begin to pick off most of the remaining men on the floor below him. And with Kyle's help the cellblock would soon be under control.

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Cameron knew that she did not have much longer. The T-600 continued to pull against her throat attempting to tear her apart. Blood began to run down Cameron's neck as the metallic fingers of the Terminator began to tear away at her flesh. Still holding onto the T-600's left hand with her right hand Cameron tightened her grip around the T-600's wrist. As hard as she could she twisted in a counter clockwise motion. The force tore through the flesh in the palm of Cameron's hand and down to her endoskeleton; but, at the same time there was a crack and a few small sparks flew from the T-600's wrist as Cameron crushed some of the small servos. She felt the Terminator's fingers go limp and she forced its hand from her neck and back away from her body. Using her legs Cameron forced her hips upward into the main body of the Terminator and lifted it slightly off the ground. As she did this Cameron twisted her upper body to the left forcing the T-600 over onto its side. She then pushed slightly away from the Terminator and brought herself to the kneeling position over the T-600. Before it could stand or even attempt to defend itself Cameron grabbed the T-600 by its head pulling it back away from the concrete floor and nearly lifting it off the ground. Then with every bit of strength Cameron had she brought the skull of the T-600 back down towards the hard concrete floor. There was a loud crash as the skull of the Terminator impacted with the ground. A split second later Cameron heard a crack as the T-600's head virtually exploded outwards as it was crushed against the ground. The T-600's body twitched for a brief moment and then stopped moving. Cameron glanced around momentarily before locating the T-600's chip. She then picked it up off the ground and stared at the chip in her had for a few seconds. Cameron then proceeded to close her fingers around it. There was a crunching sound as Cameron crushed the chip in her hand.

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John ran quickly down the stairwell to the bottom floor and as he did so he called out to Kyle.

Open them!" Kyle reached over to the computer console and after touching a few keys on the touch screen display, he almost instantaneously heard a loud clank as all of the cellblock doors began to open.

John quickly moved along the cells scanning each one as he went by. Most of the prisoners were women; however, there were a few men located here as well. Some prisoners were injured, some were dead, and some appeared to be in relatively good health considering their circumstances. John continued to move down the cellblock still keeping his rifle at the ready in case anything should happen. Kyle also moved along the cellblock calling for everyone to come out. John began to feel a horrifying feeling creep over him as he began to reach the end of the cellblock still not having found Cameron. Finally, reaching the last cell John felt that his heart was about to explode out of his chest due to the anxiety. Almost uncontrollable emotions were flooding over him as he imagined the worst. Just as he reached the door of the last cell he stopped dead in his tracks and then stepped back slightly.

"Cameron…" He said, in almost a whisper as she emerged from the cell. There was a split second of hesitation between the two as they momentarily stared at each other. Both John and Cameron's eyes were beginning to fill with tears. Then almost instantly both moved forward towards one another embracing each other and kissing. Each one clung to the other as if their life depended on it. Everything appeared to drop away from John in that moment as he held Cameron in his arms. A wave of relief rushed over him as he continued to kiss her. Finally, after several seconds the couple parted slightly.

"I thought something had happened to you." Cameron whispered, almost in an apologetic tone for disobeying John's orders. John smiled slightly still trying to fight back his emotions,

"I'll never leave you again." He responded. The two remained staring at each other for several more seconds until the silence around them was broken.

"I hate to break up this beautiful reunion; but, we really need to get the hell out of here." Kyle stated. Glancing over John's shoulder Cameron saw Kyle standing behind him. Instantly she thought that there was something oddly familiar about him. Cameron wasn't quite sure why there was this notion of familiarity about Kyle; but, it was definitely there. She cocked her head slightly to the side as she looked at him. John turned seeing Kyle standing behind him, a strange emotion came over him having both his father and Cameron so close. Slightly put off for the moment John spoke impulsively,

"Cameron this is Kyle." Cameron heard certain solemn tone in John's voice as he spoke; but, she wasn unsure as to why it was there. Cameron nodded her head slightly at Kyle,

"Nice to meet you." Kyle responded. From the current position that Kyle was in he could not see the gnarled door located behind John and Cameron. He also assumed that it was entirely possible that John may have destroyed the T-600 that was lying in front of Cameron's cell.

"Now lets get out of here." John remarked. At this comment Cameron moved quickly to retrieve a plasma rifle from one of the destroyed T-600's. The trio then made their way towards the exit along with the other remaining prisoners John had just freed.

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Authors Notes: Okay so we finally all got to see what exactly Cameron is capable of (while still not exposing herself to anyone or even Skynet due to the fact that she destroyed both Terminator's chips, and the wireless network is down). I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Review! Review!


	49. Chapter 49

Authors Notes: Okay so I'm going to make some "musical" suggestions for this chapter (thought it could be fun). Since the Battlestar Galactica Season 4 soundtract (also composed by TSCC's Bear McCeary) just became available on youtube I've been listening to that constantly as I write. If you don't know all you gotta do is go to youtube and type in "Battlestar Galactica season 4 soundtrack" and it'll come up. It was a few lines down for me but no biggie. Anyways, I'll write out the name of the song I suggest before the paragraphs I think they go well with. Enjoy this chapter!

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CHAPTER 49

*Music suggestion BSG season 4: Assault on the Colony part I & II also Kara Remembers (piano cylon full song, last track)*

John, Cameron, Kyle and the remaining prisoners made their way down the cramped and dimly lit corridors of Century Work Camp towards one of the exit points. As John lead the group, he continued to keep his rifle raised in front of him scanning the area for any danger. Cameron remained very close to his right side, her rifle raised as well. Upon their initial departure from her cellblock, Cameron had attempted to persuade John to allow her to take point in order to better protect him. John had adamantly refused, almost not being able to bear the thought of the possibility of something ever happening to Cameron again. The corridors of Century still appeared to be somewhat deserted; the further the group progressed the more this worried both John and Cameron.

"Something's not right." John whispered to Cameron.

"Skynet would not allow us to leave this easily." Cameron responded. Both individuals spoke quietly to each other so as not to be heard by the rest of the group. After walking a bit further John and the group finally found their way to a bulkhead door. John slowly spun the wheel on the door unlocking it and forced it open. The sounds of battle instantly rushed into the corridor where they were located the second the door opened. The moment John heard the battle noises he instantly knew why they had encountered minimal Skynet resistance up to this point. Skynet had pulled its forces out of Century and surrounded the camp waiting for the prisoners to come to them. It appeared that Skynet had either managed to restore its wireless network or now that all of the machines were outside and free from the dense metal corridors and metallic interference inside of the work camp they were once again able to link to Skynet using their wireless receivers.

"This is not good." John remarked,

"No, it's not." Cameron responded as John slowly stepped through the bulkhead door. The night sky was lit up with plasma fire, and explosions. The roar of aerial HK jet engines was almost a constant as they flew overhead firing down onto the resistance members. A layer of smoke hung in the air due to all of the explosions that were occurring. However, John noticed that Martin Bedell had managed to keep the resistance surprising well organized and due to the weapons they had been able to procure from the Skynet armory the resistance appeared to be holding its own against Skynet. While there was no way they would be able to win this battle they may yet be able to escape.

"Come on!" John shouted back to the group as he moved away from open door knowing that it was not at all a good location to be at the moment. Cameron stuck close by John as they moved across the battlefield. Missiles streaked over them, and plasma rounds flew past them as they ran. Suddenly, a scream rang out and John stopped running and turned quickly to see one of the prisoners fall to the ground after being shot by a plasma round. John paned his view back seeing a T-600 emerge from the darkness, its red eyes glowing as it stared at him. John began to take aim with his rifle; but, before he could squeeze the trigger, he heard Cameron's plasma rifle discharge. The T-600's head exploded and it collapsed to the ground. John was slightly surprised for a split second; but, he was quickly able to shake himself from his momentary surprise. He then continued to move the group across the battlefield finally finding some cover behind a small hill with some other resistance fighters. The side of the small sandy hill that was facing the Skynet forces was almost in a constant state of explosion from all of the plasma rounds that were striking it.

Lying on his back behind the hill John looked over at Cameron and Kyle.

"I need to find Bedell!" John shouted as he tried to be heard over the battlefield noise. He then paused for a moment and then spoke again,

"Kyle I need you to stay here with these prisoners, I'm gonna find Bedell and see if we can formulate a plan to get us the hell out of here." Kyle nodded his head and the leaned up over the hill firing off a few rounds at an oncoming T-1. John then looked back over at Cameron staring into her brown eyes for a moment,

"Cameron…come with me." John said, to which she responded with a nod and an even so small comforting smile.

Both John and Cameron then proceeded to stand quickly and then began to run across the battlefield towards another group of resistance fighters that had taken up cover behind some concrete debris. As they ran Kyle and the few other prisoners that did have rifles began to fire their weapons attempting to give John and Cameron some covering fire. Finally, reaching the second group John quickly scanned the men that were there.

"Where's Martin Bedell?" He yelled, still trying to be heard over the sound of battle noise, which was almost deafening at this point. One of the men looked back up at him,

"I don't know?!"

"Damn it!" John said to himself. The steady drone of jet engine noise grew louder and louder as an aerial HK began to hover overhead spraying the people on the ground below it with plasma cannon rounds as it moved closer and closer to John and Cameron's position. As it did this John watched as several people were struck from the aerial HK's plasma cannons, a few resistance fighters managed to let out a scream of pain before dropping to the ground; but, most were killed instantly upon being struck with the high heat rounds. Just then, John observed a rocket streak through the air striking the HK dead center. A large chunk of the aircraft exploded and it came crashing to the ground causing a fiery explosion.

John and Cameron continued to move through the debris being careful to maintain a low profile so as to not be hit by any incoming fire. Cameron stuck close by John's side as they made their way around the bloody battlefield. It was at about this time that John observed another group of fighters ahead of him and he quickly made his way over to the group. He was relieved to find that Martin was among them.

"What's the situation Bedell!?" John shouted, as he leaned up against the concrete debris that he and Martin were somewhat hidden behind.

"Not good." Martin responded but then continued, "But Skynet is showing some weakness on their northern front. If we can manage to break through their lines there I think we have a chance at escaping." John quickly scanned the area that Martin was talking about and saw that there were indeed signs of weakness showing in the Skynet battle lines.

"If we can bring up some rockets I think we can break our way through!" John yelled to Martin still trying to communicate over deafening noise that blanketed the battlefield. Martin nodded his head,

"I think you're right." John instantly knew that without any type of radio communication he would be forced to track down men with rocket launchers on foot. He glanced over at Cameron,

"You ready to go for another run?" Cameron gave John a look of both confidence and sheer trust as an answer to his question, as they both prepared to run across the battlefield once again.

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*Music suggestion BSG season 4: Farewell Apollo*

The battle at Century Work Camp raged on for hours; eventually, however the resistance fighters were able to break through Skynet's northern battle lines and manage an escape. While many, many people had died in the escape attempt, John had managed to save even more. The sun was slowly beginning to rise and the survivors had managed to take refuge inside of several burnt out office buildings that were positioned in relatively close proximity to one another. The buildings were just barely standing; but, they would do for the time being. John had carefully managed to make his way in between the buildings attempting to reassure the remaining survivors that there was hope and that he would do everything in his power to protect them. Cameron remained close at John's side as he did this. As John made his way into one particular building he managed to finally come upon the group that Kyle was with. As soon as John saw Kyle a great sense of relief flooded over him as he walked immediately to him. When John reached Kyle he felt the sudden urge to hug him, yet sadly John knew he would not be able to do so. This lead to a certain sense of sadness on John's part as he continued to stand in front of Kyle speechless for just a moments due to the fact that he was not quite sure what to do or say. John was also still attempting to fight the nearly overwhelming swell of emotions that was trying to wash its way over him. Finally, John managed to put a few words together,

"Thank you." John said to Kyle. For an unknown reason, Kyle instantly noticed a slight hint of sadness behind John's voice. Kyle assumed that John's emotional state was due to the large amount of people that had died in the escape attempt.

"We never would have made it out of there alive without you." John continued ever so slightly glancing over his shoulder at Cameron as he spoke. Kyle however did not notice this gesture and again assumed that John meant everyone as apposed to just Cameron. Kyle then looked at John with a strange look in his eyes.

"None of us ever would have made it out of there alive without you." He responded. Both men stared at each other for a moment still not quiet sure what to say after this point. Kyle felt a strange feeling come over him. There was a certain closeness that he still continued to feel towards John; but, it was not because of the time they had spent together at Century. While that feeling was also there as well, this sensation was something entirely different, Kyle could not explain it at all. There was another few seconds of silence where both men continued to stand silently looking at each other and not saying anything at all. Cameron noticed this moment of silence as well. She still had not been able to shake the notion of familiarity towards Kyle. However, she was still unsure as to why it was there. After the ensuing silence John finally managed to speak again,

"I'm gonna make my way around a bit more and check on some other people." Kyle nodded his head and John turned to walk off.

"Hey," Kyle said, just as John had turned away from him. John immediately spun back around to face his father who spoke in a slightly less confident voice than he normally did,

"Did you really mean it?" Kyle asked. John looked at Kyle with somewhat of a confused look on his face,

"Did I mean what?"

"Do you really plan on fighting Skynet?" Kyle asked. John hesitated for a brief moment then responded,

"Yes, I do." Kyle smiled slightly.

"Then I'm with you."Kyle said. John felt an overwhelming surge of confidence and joy come over him from hearing his father speak these words. It was becoming readily apparent that John Connor had found his army.

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*Music suggestion BSG season 4: Roslin and Adama reunited...Probably going to have to play this song through twice for this part.*

John slowly slid down the hard, concrete wall completely exhausted. Sunlight was just beginning to break through into the remains of the room that he and Cameron were located in; but, John was so tired at this point, he did not care. While he and Cameron were not completely alone the area that John had found was somewhat private. He desperately wanted to sleep; but, at the same time he did not want to lose sight of Cameron again. John leaned his head back up against the hard, soot stained, wall and gradually looked up at Cameron. She stood silently a few feet away from him scanning the area around John for any threats that might come. John could barely keep his eyes open at this point; but, he forced himself to do so as he continued to look up at Cameron. She turned slightly looking down on him. John slowly reached out his hand to her,

"Come here…" He said quietly and in a gentle tone. Cameron took his hand and he guided her down next to him.

"You should sleep, you need your rest." Cameron stated, an ever so slight hint of concern behind the tone of her voice as she sat down next to him, still continuing to hold onto his hand. John sighed still fighting to stay awake,

"I'm afraid to." He said. Cameron looked at John quite confused by this statement. John continued, "I'm afraid this is a dream, and if it is, I don't want to wake from it." Cameron slowly put her arm around John and pulled him closer to her so that he could lean against her. As she did this John rested his head on her shoulder.

"This is not a dream John." She replied. "And I will be here when you wake up…I promise." John finally began to allow his eyes to close, feeling that he could finally relax for the first time in a long time.

"Cameron." John said, in a very quite voice that was barely audible and with obvious exhaustion behind its tone.

"Yes John?" She replied. There was a momentary pause between the two, then John spoke again, still in a whisper,

"I love you." Cameron instantly felt a swell of emotion come over her as her eyes began to fill with tears. She pulled John slightly closer to her, and reaching over with her free hand she slowly began to run her fingers through his hair and across John's face. Even though there was still danger all around them, at this moment John felt completely relaxed while he was in Cameron's arms, a few seconds later he was asleep.

Cameron continued to caress John's hair and face, running her fingers tips through his brown hair and down the side of his cheek. The time that she had spent apart from John had been the hardest thing she had ever had to endure. Cameron knew she never wanted to be apart from John ever again. As Cameron continued to stroke John's face she suddenly noticed something. It was the Skynet barcode tattoo on her left arm. A feeling of both fear and hatred came over Cameron as she looked upon it. She stared at the tattoo for several more seconds not moving. Then Cameron made a decision. She resolved to herself that as soon as she garnered a knife sharp enough she would cut the barcode from her body. She was no longer Skynet's property…Nor would she ever be again.

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Authors notes: Okay so this is kind of the end of my season 4. But don't worry Season 5 will be up soon enough. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Review! Review!


	50. Chapter 50

CHAPTER 50

The drone of the jet engines echoed throughout the interior of the TDE room. John looked over to his left and could see what appeared to be the precursor of a temporal sphere suspended in mid air in the center of the room. Parts of the sphere would appear and then rapidly disappear as electrical energy arched around it. It seemed that the TDE equipment was on some sort of standby mode. New memories continued to flow into John's mind as he lay there. After Century Work Camp John's following had begun to grow rapidly and he remembered building the resistance into the fighting force that, it needed to be in order to combat Skynet. John remembered working with his father and uncle from time to time in different battles; all the while knowing the fate that was inevitably laid out in front of both of them. John also remembered the time he spent with Cameron. It seemed that every day he grew closer to her. John felt that his love for Cameron had almost become an all-consuming emotion. John never wanted to be apart from her and when they were separated, he felt an almost uncontrollable aching to be with her once again. Both John and Cameron had become virtually inseparable. Then as he continued to lie on the floor a particular memory from a particular day that John always knew would come but nonetheless dreaded finally came into his mind.

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"I can not stress to you how important this mission is." John stated as he stood on a raised walkway in front of a large group of soldiers inside one of the larger storage rooms located inside of the newly captured Serrano Point Military Base. General Perry stood motionless off to John's far right side staring down at the men.

"Topanga Canyon is of utmost importance to us. If we allow Skynet to maintain their hold on that base of operations it could mean the very death of the resistance." John said, as he paced slightly back and forth on the steel walkway in front of his soldiers. "Are their any questions?" The room remained quiet as John glanced around it.

"Good, then let's get ready." After John finished speaking the group started to break up as the soldiers began to go about their various pre-combat activities. John walked down the steel stairwell to his left towards the bottom floor of the storage room. General Perry followed a few feet behind him. Almost the second John's foot touched the floor Cameron was by his side. John began to walk through the large room headed towards one of the exits.

"General Connor!" A voice called out. John immediately recognized the voice that was calling out to him and nearly cringed upon hearing it. John turned to see Kyle walking up to him.

"General, I'd like permission to take a small group of men and go out and search for Derek." John hesitated for a moment, feeling extremely guilty about the answer he knew he would be forced to give. After a few seconds John responded,

"I need ever man I can get on this mission." John said, in a slightly cold tone. He instantly saw a heart breaking look come across Kyle's face, which in turn broke John's heart as well.

"But sir…he's my brother." Kyle responded. There was a certain sense of urgency in Kyle's voice as he spoke. "I know he's still alive." Kyle said.

"I believe you Kyle." John responded, "And as soon as this mission is over, Derek will be my number one priority. But I need YOU on this mission." Kyle stood quietly for a moment with a look of both devastation and slight confusion on his face. Kyle was slightly confused that John had appeared to place so much emphasis on the fact that he be present for this particular mission. John continued to struggle to hold back his emotions as he looked at his father.

"I'm sorry Kyle…" John said, just a hint of sadness breaking through the tone of his voice as he spoke. John then quickly turned and walked away desperately trying to fight back his feelings and trying to maintain his cold hard demeanor. While John's change in facial expression was extremely subtle Cameron was able to notice instantly that something had deeply disturbed him. She was quite confused as to why this conversation with Kyle had appeared to upset John so much. While she knew that John did not like sacrificing men for the sake of the mission he had been forced to do this many times before. And while each time it did appear to wear John down just a bit this particular instance seemed to visibly shake John more so than any other. Once again, Cameron instantly felt the desire to comfort John; but, knew she could not overtly do anything for him at the moment due to the amount of people that were currently around them. However, as they walked Cameron stepped slightly closer to John and allowed her hand to gently brush up against his. To anyone else this would have appeared to be an inadvertent touch; but, John was absolutely certain that Cameron never accidentally touched him. While he was still deeply disturbed by the events that were about to play out, he always received great strength knowing that Cameron was by his side.

"I'm going to head to the War Room Sir." General Perry said, as he continued to walk a few feet behind John and Cameron. John stopped and turned to face him.

"Thank you General, I will join you there shortly and we can begin planning our attack." General Perry nodded and turned to walk away. John glanced over at Cameron for a split second and then turned and headed in a different direction as General Perry, Cameron continued to follow John as he did so.

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"That girl follows him around like a love sick puppy dog." David Jennings said, as he walked up from behind Kyle who was still standing speeches after the conclusion to the conversation he and John had just had. Kyle however, did not respond.

"I mean she's cute and all; but, I'd want some personal space." David continued. "A man needs some breathing room to explore his other potential possibilities." David stated, just as a few female soldiers just so happened to be walking by. David smiled gallantly at them as they continued to pass.

"She was all he thought about." Kyle responded in a slightly quiet and sad voice as he continued to stand there motionless.

"She was all who thought about?" David asked.

"Cameron…" Kyle responded, "She was all General Connor thought about when we were at Century. He was obsessed with getting her out of that place. If it meant him taking on that whole Skynet prison by himself to get her out, that was what he was willing to do."

"But you saved his ass didn't you Kyle?" David said, with a slight hint of humor behind his comment. Kyle managed a mild smile; but, it doon faded.

"Sometimes I think he's fighting this war for her and not for us." Kyle stated with a hint of fear hidden behind his tone.

"Look…" David said in a reassuring voice, "Connor knows your brother is important; but, I'm sure there are things that he knows that we don't know. He said that if this mission fails so will the resistance. That's gotta mean this whole situation is important."

"It's just that I went back with him for his girlfriend, or whatever they are, and now he wont even do the same for my own brother." Kyle said, with a bit of anger in his tone. David put his arm around Kyle in a very brotherly fashion.

"Now look here man…We gonna go out there and whoop Skynet's ass, get done whatever this "important mission" is that Connor won't give us to much information on. Then we're gonna come back home, go find your dumb ass brother, because he's probably off trying to find a burnt out mall with a GAP still standing or something. After that we're gonna come back here and get some love'n from some of these fine resistance ladies." David smirked slightly at Kyle as he panned his hand out in front of both of them, pointing out groups of female soldiers. Kyle laughed slightly.

"You have a one track mind." He said, as he slowly began to walk in the direction of his cot with David in tow.

"What you think I'm playing or something?" David said, "I could hook you up easy." Kyle rolled his eyes. Usually when Kyle was depressed; David had always managed to bring a bit of humor back into his life.

"So you want me to go talk some of my lady friends before the battle? Maybe one of them can help you get out those pre-battle jitters you always seem to have." Kyle again rolled his eyes at David as he sat down on his cot and began to clean his rifle. "Hey, it works for me." David added, with another smile on his face.

"Besides I think if you rub that rifle barrel any harder, I may start to think there is something strange going on with you." David said, still with a smile on his face. At about this same moment a rather attractive Hispanic female came walking by Kyle's cot, as she passed David followed her with his eyes.

"I gotta go." David said, "Lemme know if you want me to hook you up." Kyle rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"Go have fun with your demented friends." Kyle said, with a slight bit of sarcasm, as David began to walk away from him towards the woman. Typically, at this moment, Kyle would have removed Sarah Connor's picture from his pocket and began to look at it; but, regrettably, he could no longer do this. The old photo, which had given him so much comfort and hope over the years, had been destroyed in a fire in the last Skynet infiltrator attack on the base he had been located at. Not quite sure what to do at this point Kyle laid back on his bed and began to mentally study Sarah Connors face in his mind. It was a face that had helped to bring him through hell and a face that he would do anything to meet. Kyle sighed as he lay quietly on his cot.

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John and Cameron walked down the concrete hallway towards a steel door. When they had both reached the door John stepped slightly closer to the computer control panel located on the right side of the doorway and a red laser beam began to project from the bottom of the computer console. The laser scanned over John's eyes and shortly thereafter they heard a click and the door unlocked. John stepped to his left slightly and opened the door for both he and Cameron. As soon as the door was opened the sound of rushing air and the drone of jet engines could instantly be heard. John and Cameron walked through the doorway and into the Time Displacement Equipment control room. John looked through the glass window that was directly across from the door he had just walked through and could see the room where the actual Time Displacement Equipment was housed.

The six large jet engines appeared to be idling and there were momentary flashes of electricity across the room as a temporal bubble would partially begin to form and then quickly disappear. The room that contained the TDE was somewhat cramped with equipment. The large jet engines took up the most space while the concrete supports that housed and partially surrounded the jet engines took up even more room as well. In the center of the room was a circular metallic and glass depression where someone would stand before being sent through time. This depression glowed blue with electrical energy. Three similar metallic and glass depressions were located on the ceiling of the TDE room as well. John turned to his left and saw a group of men working away at several computer terminals that were located inside the TDE control room. Several mainframe computers were set up, along with some control consoles. Several of the Bubble Tech's had laptop computers wired into the control console itself. As John scanned the room one of the men turned away from a control panel and began to approach him. This particular Bubble Tech was in his late thirties, had fair skin, and reddish brown hair. He wore a dark blue jacket and pants and had a pair of black framed glasses on his face.

"What have you got for me Sergeant Reed?" John asked, with a slight lack of emotion in his voice. Cameron stood quietly behind John as he spoke. Michael Reed shook his head slightly and sighed,

"Getting the Novikov Sphere to form is no problem. It's what shape you'll be in when you get there that is the problem." Confused, John tilted his head slightly one side, it was obvious to Cameron that he had apparently picked up this mannerism from her. While Cameron did not show it, she momentarily experienced what she could only describe as slight amusement upon seeing John perform this action. Reed paused momentarily,

"Sending someone through time would be no problem; but, what shape their body will show up in is the major issue." Reed hesitated for another moment.

"Our computers aren't able to effectively communicate with the TDE fast enough. We're having to upload terabytes of information in seconds from multiple different sources. Not only are we telling the TDE where to send someone, we're telling it how to reassemble them at the same time. For right now we can only tell it where to send someone; but not how to reassemble them. And if it hadn't been for your friend here we wouldn't even be this far." John flicked his eyes over his shoulder at Cameron. While he would have liked to smile at her with a certain amount of pride for her accomplishments he restrained himself from doing so.

"It's the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle." Reed continued. John wrinkled his forehead still slightly confused. Reed thought for a moment, it was obvious his thoughts were jumping ahead of his words.

"Our bodies are made up of atoms. In quantum mechanics the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle states that we can either know what an atom is doing or where it is; but, not both at the same time. In other words, I could send you through time; but, you'd essentially end up as a puddle of goo on the other side because the Novikov Sphere wouldn't be able to reassemble you correctly." John sighed slightly. Upon hearing the completion of Sergeant Reed's statement Cameron instantly flashed to memories of Jackie. Skynet had conducted its cruel experiments on her in order to perfect its own technological advances. Cameron felt both a slight bit of sadness and anger play upon her as she reminisced about Skynet's activities with both her and Jackie.

"Maybe if I had a couple of years to work on this thing I might be able to come up with something; but, since this TDE wasn't completed when we captured it I'm not exactly sure how Skynet was planning on overcoming this issue." Reed said.

"You need a Skynet computer to run the Time Displacement Equipment." Cameron stated in an emotionless tone as she continued to stand behind John.

"Essentially yes." Reed said. "Like I said, given enough time I might be able to figure this thing out. But for right now I'm not even sure of a starting point to begin from. These types of quantum mechanics are so far beyond what we've ever seen before it's almost impossible to tell how long it would take us to complete something like this." John thought for a moment,

"If we could get you a Skynet computer that could do these types of calculations, do you think you'd be able to figure it out and make it work? And if so, how long would it take you to set it up?"John asked. Both back to back questions temporarily overwhelmed Reed. He thought for another moment before responding.

"I'm not exactly sure; but, seeing as how this is already Skynet hardware and software, if you were able to get a Skynet motherboard or something else that was designed for these types of calculation I would think that this system would have been designed to work with it. I don't think it would take that long to integrate the two systems together. But, that is also assuming that I can figure out the software Skynet was planning on using to send someone back with." Reed Stated. John nodded his head in response.

"Let me know if you come up with anything new Sergeant." John said. While he knew that Reed and his men were working as fast and as hard as they could on the TDE the situation still frustrated John greatly.

"Yes sir." Reed responded, and then turned and walked back over to the control console. John glanced over his shoulder at Cameron once again the worry in his eyes was apparent. She however, was not exactly sure as to what was causing this increase in stress for him. While anxiety and stress were a part of John's everyday life he seemed to be more anxious than normal.

"Lets go." John stated as he turned and began to walk past Cameron. As he did so she subtly reached out with her left hand and ran her fingers tips across John's left hand as he passed her. He looked over at her once again as she did this. It never ceased to amaze him how Cameron was always able to tell when was in need of reassurance from her.

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John stood silently in his room in somewhat of a daze. Thoughts of the upcoming battle continued to torment him. He searched his mind desperately trying to figure out a way to save his father's life and the resistance at the same time. A look of grief formed on his face as he found that he could think of nothing. John's concentration was broken when he felt Cameron's hand gently squeeze his bicep. He looked over at her as she was standing at a slight angle to him. She stared at him with her brown eyes that appeared to search deep into his soul.

"What's wrong John?" She asked, not bothering to hide the concern in her voice now that they were alone. An internal struggle within John began. He had never voluntarily told anyone about his father, and it was such a sensitive issue that he felt he still was not necessarily ready to explain it all. Yet, even the distant possibility of hiding something from Cameron, or worse yet, lying to her utterly disgusted John. He stood silently for a moment staring into Cameron's eyes. Finally, he reached out and caressed the side of her face with his hand.

"This is something I need to figure out on my own." He replied, the sadness in his voice completely apparent to Cameron. The desire to comfort John continued to sweep over her as she looked at him. While Cameron was privy to the same information that John had in regards to the fact that Skynet may have perfected Time Displacement at Topanga Canyon and while this was an extremely serious issue there still appeared to be more bothering John than just this. Cameron stepped closer to John rapping her arms around him and pulling him closer into a hug. John in turn rapped his arms around her as well slightly resting his head against hers. Cameron felt such closeness with John whenever they were alone, it was almost beyond reason or description to her. John felt the same way; his feelings for Cameron almost defied reason or explanation. Yet, behind all of it, John still had the extremely unsettling feeling that he may one day lose Cameron. While John was readily aware of the fact that Cameron was completely willing to sacrifice herself for him, he often made sure not to dwell on thoughts such as these due to the fact that these images terrified him. However, this time around these thoughts seemed to be breaking through. John fought to control his emotions. In times such as these when thoughts such as this did break through John felt that his emotions may consume him; and the only one that could pull him back from the brink was Cameron. Due to the stress of the possible upcoming loss of his father and the battle that was to come, John continued to feel the anxiety pull itself over him. Cameron felt John grip her slightly tighter as he continued to hold her. Cameron continued to hold John close to her and her hands gently caressed his back. She felt John's heart rate begin to elevate and his muscles tensed up as he clung to her. After several seconds of silently holding her, John slowly began to relax once again. Cameron gradually leaned back away from him; but, still continued to hold onto John. She looked back into his eyes and brought her right hand up to caress the side of John's face. Cameron then leaned forward and began to kiss John, who after a moment slowly slid his hands from Cameron's back down the sides of her body onto her hips. The couple continued to kiss for several more seconds. Cameron then slowly brought her hands around the front of John's body and slowly lifted his shirt off. John soon followed by pulling Cameron's shirt off as well. While John and Cameron had done this many times before each time the couple made love the emotions they both experienced and expressed were beyond description.

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Derek awoke to the cold splash of water in his face. He glanced around for a brief moment and found that he was inside of what appeared to be the living room of a dilapidated mansion. He then looked up to see the rubbery and somewhat damaged face of a T-600 standing over him. The T-600 tossed the bucket it had used to pour the water over Derek's head to the side. It then reached down and grabbed Derek by the right arm nearly lifting him off the ground as it did so. Derek tried to struggle; but, quickly came to the realization that his left arm was chained to the ground. The T-600 held Derek's right arm in the air and with a laser-imprinting device burned a bar code and number onto his arm. Derek grimaced and groaned in pain as he felt the burning sensation travel up his arm as the tattoo was imprinted on him. Once the bar code was burned into his arm the T-600 released Derek. It then turned away from him and walked out of the room. Derek lay on the ground in immense pain, his head still throbbing from being knocked unconscious by the Terminator while he had been inside of the transport vehicle. He now also felt as if his arm were on fire from the tattoo that he had just received. Derek slowly laid his head back down on the hard wooden floor and blacked out once again.

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Authors Notes: Okay so I'd like to thank the History Channel's for their special on Star Trek for my knowledge of the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle (which you can do a google search on if you so choose to learn more about it). I think you guys are REALLY going to love the upcoming story I have set up for all of our characters. Review! Review!


	51. Chapter 51

Authors Notes: Okay so just so everyone knows these next chapters are going to get very dark, very fast.

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CHAPTER 51

The steady thudding of the helicopter blades seemed to reverberate throughout John's body as he walked across the tarmac towards one of the Blackhawk Helicopters that was idling on the tarmac. His plasma rifle was slung across his chest in a three-point harness and his black fatigues that he wore rippled due to the wind that the helicopter blades were creating. Cameron walked close behind John, dressed in all black as well. She too had her plasma rifle slung across her chest via a three-point harness. Several other Tech Com soldiers including Kyle Reese followed behind Cameron. The night air was crisp, it just before dawn and there was a certain coolness in the air. When John reached the Blackhawk Helicopter he stepped up inside of the passenger compartment. Instinctively, he immediately turned and held out his hand to Cameron to help her inside. This slightly surprised her; Cameron knew that John was well aware of the fact that she would not need assistance getting into the helicopter. However, at the same time Cameron found that in and of itself she appreciated the gesture that John was offering her. She smiled ever so slightly at John and took his hand as she stepped inside the helicopter.

John and Cameron sat next to each other as the other soldiers made their way into the helicopter. John reached above him and took one of the radio head sets located inside the cabin of the helicopter, so that he would be able to better communicate with the pilot. After putting it on John connected the radio wire to the helicopter's internal radio system.

"You can take off whenever you're read Lieutenant Spears." John stated as the radio crackled slightly.

"Yes, Sir." Spears responded. The helicopter noise crew louder as it began to slowly lift off the ground.

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Derek worked away methodically at the wooden panel that his chains were secured to. Using his fingernails, he had managed to dig out a small hole surrounding the metal plate that secured his chains to the floor. As he lay on the ground working Derek found that he could now hear the sound of piano music coming from what could only be the basement of the mansion. Derek also discovered that the music itself was quite unnerving to him. While being a prisoner of Skynet's was frightening enough the steady and incessant playing of classical music truly alarmed him.

"Why would Skynet play music?" He thought to himself.

"Can I confess to you?" The man lying next to Derek asked him. Derek glanced up to see his friend Billy Wisher lying on the floor beside him. Billy's eyes were filled with both fear and devastation.

"I'm not a priest…Far from it." Derek responded as he continued to work away at the wood.

"I'm a liar." Billy stated. "And the devil."

"Ah, Billy." Derek responded still trying to pry the metal plate from the floor with his hand while at the same time half heartedly trying to comfort his friend.

"And the names not Billy…It's not Wisher."

"What?" Derek responded.

"My name's Andy…Andy Goode."

"Alright Andy." Derek said, a certain sense of confusion in the tone of his voice. By this point Derek began to believe that Billy may have snapped under the pressure of being a prisoner or possibly whatever had been done to him in the basement.

"I did this." Andy continued. "All of this…It's my fault."

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked, still methodically working away at the wood on the floor.

"I built Skynet." Andy whispered. Derek stopped his work immediately and looked at Andy with horror and disbelief in his eyes.

"You need to rest." Derek responded, "You're very sick."

"No…No…" Andy responded as he rolled onto his side to face Derek. "I'm not sick. I'm not sick, I did this. All of this." Andy slid closer to Derek and grabbed him by the hand and looked into his eyes.

"I was part of a team, a group. Ten of us…Fifteen I don't know. We, we used names, we were liars. I built computers. I built a computer…a, a mind. It became angry, and scared. And I couldn't reassure it." Tears began to well up in Andy's eyes as he spoke. "I'm sorry." Andy said as he began to cry.

"I'm sorry…Please forgive me." Derek shoulder was suddenly grabbed by the rubbery-skinned hand of a T-600 who stood him up, yanking him away from Andy who lay on the floor still crying. The T-600 unhandcuffed Derek and quickly walked him out of the room. A look of horror appeared to be on everyone's face as Derek was escorted out of the room by the T-600.

The T-600 opened a door in front of Derek that led to a descending staircase. The music that Derek had heard the entire time he had been inside the mansion now grew louder when the door was opened in front of him. The Terminator guided Derek down the stairwell which appeared only to be lit by the little bit of sunlight that was making its way through the slats in the wood that boarded up the windows. The music continued to grow louder as he made his way further into the dust covered basement. The T-600 stopped in front of a door and Derek heard it unbolt. It then slowly opened in front of him. Derek felt his respiration and heart rate jump up immediately as the music grew even louder. The room in front of him was pitch dark. The T-600 pushed Derek slightly forwards into the dark room. After entering, the door behind Derek swung closed with a loud crash and he was plunged into darkness. The music grew louder…

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John continued to listen to the thudding blades of the Blackhawk Helicopter drone on as they flew. He glanced across the helicopter at Kyle who was sitting across from him. John noticed that there was an ever so slight look of anger in Kyle's eyes as he looked back at him. John found that this saddened him greatly. While John was relatively certain that Derek would survive these turn of events, there was little to nothing John could do to reassure his father of this fact. There was also the heartbreaking fact that Kyle would more than likely never see his brother again. As John looked at Kyle the expression on Kyle's face brought back memories of Sarah, John's mother. She too had died under the guise of a great misunderstanding about Cameron. And while the situation were different it now appeared that John may indeed lose his father under those same set of circumstances.

Nevertheless, when John had informed his father of his orders Kyle had not argued. Like the good soldier he was, Kyle followed his orders. As they flew on John felt the grief growing within him as he knew what lay ahead. Still trying to maintain the disciplined cold exterior, John looked over at Cameron who was seated to his right. When he did so he saw her eyes turn from where they had been looking and lock with his. There was an ever so slight look of both curiosity and remorse on her face as she still had not been able to ascertain exactly what it was that was bothering John, nor had she been able to console him. John found that a certain sense of guilt pulled itself over him for not disclosing the specific's of the situation to Cameron. John felt the internal struggle within him growing worse.

"We'll be at Point Mugu in about fifteen minutes." John Heard Lieutenant Spears say over the radio head set.

"Thank you Lieutenant." He responded. While Point Mugu was nowhere near ready to launch any type of aerial offensive against Skynet due to the damage that it had received when the resistance had managed to acquire it. Point Mugu was still an ideal place for the helicopters to land and refuel before going into battle. John continued to stare across the helicopter at Kyle who was now looking down at the floor with a look of defeat on his face. The sadness within John continued to grow as they flew onward.

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Derek felt his arms and legs being secured by metal shackles to a cold steel table. The room itself was still pitch dark and he could not see anything. The air around him was also cold, and the only thing that Derek was able to make out was the occasional flash of a set of glowing red eyes that made their way around the room. The piano music in the room also continued to play. Derek slightly jerked his arms against his restraints testing them to no avail. He watched as red glowing eyes appeared to float around him with the metallic clanking of metal feet on the floor as they moved.

Just then, Derek felt a cold steal hand grab his arm holding it tightly down against the metal table. He felt the prick of a needle drive itself into one of the veins in his right arm. Derek then felt the hand release him; but, he could still feel the needle that remained in his forearm. There was a momentary delay and then suddenly Derek felt a burning sensation start to push its way into the vein that the needle had been placed in. The sensation slowly began to travel up his arm and then made its way across Derek's chest. Finally, reaching his heart the burning sensation then began to travel throughout the rest of Derek's body. He grimaced in pain and even though he was extremely cold he felt the sweat begin to pour off his forehead.

Derek's breathing increased dramatically as he felt himself becoming short of breath. In addition to this, an incredible feeling of dizziness swept over him. He rolled his head back on the metal table still trying to look around the room. The red glowing dots that appeared to float around him now seemed to be leaving glowing red streaks as they made their way around the room. The metal clanking echoed in Derek's head and the piano music appeared to grow even louder. Derek felt a sickening feeling in his stomach and his head began to pound. The dizziness increased and the burning sensation continued to travel throughout his body. As it did so the pain grew worse. At about this same moment Derek heard a very androgynous and emotionless voice speak from virtually everywhere in the room.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, serial number EN385." Derek tried to look around the room; but he still could not see anything. He then heard the voice speak again,

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, serial number EN385." It said with no emotion or even a hint of gender behind it. Derek lay silently considering his options for a response, or if he should even respond. After another moment of silence Derek began to feel another more powerful burning sensation traveling up his arm through his veins. The sensation again made its way across his chest and throughout his entire body. However, Derek found that this time the pain was much worse. He grimaced and groaned as the feeling traveled throughout him. The dizziness grew worse and Derek allowed his head to collapse back onto the table once again with a slight thud. Derek was so dizzy he almost found himself trying to hold onto something as he felt the room spinning around him.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, serial number EN385." The voice stated again echoing within Derek's head.

"Yes, damn it!" He finally shouted. Almost instantly a wave of dizziness rushed over Derek as he felt himself losing consciousness from both the pain and the swimming sensation inside of his mind. The glowing red lights dimmed slightly and Derek felt his eyes roll up into his head as he passed out.

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Derek slowly awoke, still in pitch darkness. He felt his body shivering from the cold even though waves of heat ran through him from the drugs that had been pumped into his body. He could still see the flashes of red eyes as they traveled around the room; however, there appeared to be less of them at this point.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese." The voice stated again. Derek shook his head feeling frustration come over him.

"Not this again." He thought to himself still feeling extremely dizzy. The nauseating feeling in his stomach did not help the situation either.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, tell us everything you know about General John Connor." Derek hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Go to hell." He said, his voice weakening slightly as he spoke. Almost the second the words left his mouth he felt a more extreme burning sensation pushing its way back into the veins of his arm once again. Like it had done before it traveled up his arm across his chest and throughout his body. Derek's dizziness grew even worse and he felt an almost drunken sensation coming over him as he lay on the cold steel table.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, what future tactical plans does Tech Com plan to take against Skynet?" Derek found himself fighting the urge to answer the question. He quickly was able to ascertained that it must have been due to the drugs that were now being forced into his system.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, what are the current tactical defenses of Serrano Point?" The struggle within Derek grew worse as he felt at any moment he could break. However, he managed to get out the words,

"Fuck you…" Instantly, Derek felt even more drugs being forced into his veins. He grimaced and groaned as the sensations moved throughout his body. Derek was beginning to feel that he almost could not take anymore of this.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, tell us everything you know about General John Connor." The voice stated once again in its cold, emotionless manner. Derek tried to fight the question; but he felt that he could no longer due so. He searched his mind for something, anything, trivial that he may be able to say that would be of little importance. Almost a split second before he felt that more drugs would be pumped into him he responded,

"He's in love…" There was a momentary pause where nothing was said or even heard. Derek even saw the glowing red eyes stop moving around the room for just a moment. Derek felt that at any moment he may pass out; but he fought to stay awake.

"Explain?" The voice stated.

"It doesn't matter…He'll never let you get near her." Derek said. There was another pause and then Derek saw a few sets of red eyes quickly disappear from the room.

"What are the locations of the resistance bases located in this immediate area?" The voice asked. While Derek normally would have responded with another profanity laced statement in response to this question, he felt he no longer had the energy to do so. Nevertheless, he did manage to not say anything at all.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, give us the name of one of the individuals who is located in the holding area you were taken from." This question slightly confused Derek. Seeing as how Skynet already knew his name Derek wondered why Skynet would need him to disclose the others names. Unless someone else had already given Skynet Derek's name and serial number.

"Why do you need one of their names?" Derek asked, still feeling conflicted for even speaking with the machines. There was another momentary pause, which allowed the piano music to continue to echo in Derek's head. He found that this same song being played over and over again troubled him more than anything else that was being done to him. Finally, the voice broke the silence.

"So that we may terminate that individual." This response shocked and angered Derek.

"You want me to pick which one of them you will kill?!" Derek said, looking up into the darkness with a slight bit of furry behind the tone of his voice.

"That is correct." The voice responded, still cold and emotionless. Derek dropped his head back on the table not responding; but still fighting the overwhelming sensation to do so.

"First Lieutenant Derek Reese, give us the name of one of the individuals you were being held with so that we may terminate them." Derek felt the drugs beginning to take control of him once again, fear gripped him and Derek felt that he would not be able to fight much longer. He ground his teeth trying not to say anything; but at the same time knowing he would,

"First Lieutenant Dere…" Derek cut the voice off,

"Billy Wisher damn it!" Derek finally called out. He then dropped his head back on the metal table with a clunk as it impacted. He felt a tear roll down the side of his face as the guilt and fear pulled itself over him. Derek felt as if he was beginning to completely lose control at this point. There was silence once again inside of the room and Derek glanced around. He was surprised to find that he saw no more glowing red eyes moving about. Derek was not quite sure if he was alone or not; but this unknown situation appeared to terrify him even more.

The room stayed dead silent for several minutes as Derek's words about Billy Wisher ran through his mind, over and over again. While he was not completely sure if what Billy had told him earlier were true or if his confession about building Skynet were just the ramblings of a man pushed to the breaking point, Derek found that he still cursed himself for calling out his friend's name. If what Billy had said were true then he did indeed deserve to die, but if it was not true…Derek's torment increased as the silence inside the room grew longer. For all he knew the machines were killing Billy right now. Derek lay on the metallic bed the dizziness still coursing through his head as sadness and guilt continued to eat away at him as well. The drugs continued to send waves of heat throughout his body even though he was bitter cold. Derek's heart rate grew faster and his breathing remained elevated as he felt his shortness of breath begin to take hold of him.

Suddenly, blinding light flooded over the room. Derek felt as if numerous spotlights had just been turned on in an instant, and for the moment he was temporarily blinded by the intense light. Blinking and squinting his eyes Derek tried to look around. Finally, his eyes started to adjust to the light. Derek slowly began to be able to make out the room itself. It appeared to be a medical bay, several computer mainframes were scattered throughout the circular room along with several stainless steel examination tables. The tables themselves had bright examination lights over them. One of which was currently turned on and shining in Derek's eyes. There were also smaller tables on wheels, which presumably could be used to place medical tools on.

Derek observed some sort of computer controlled IV device attached to is right arm. However, the bag itself did not contain a saline solution like they normally would. While Derek did not know exactly what the substance was that was inside of the IV bag, the brownish colored substance which was now being forced into the vein in his arm gave Derek a sickening feeling. He continued to look around the cold steel room until his eyes locked on something in particular.

"No…You didn't…" Derek whispered, as a horrifying feeling came over him and sadness gripped his soul. What Derek saw was almost to much for him to handle. He continued to feel the horror, fear, and sadness course over him as he stared at what was just across the room from him. This was something Derek thought he would never see.

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Authors Notes: Okay so like I said, dark. But I hope everyone enjoyed it. Review!!! Review!!!


	52. Chapter 52

CHAPTER 52

The Blackhawk Helicopter slowly began to lift off the bombed out tarmac located at Point Mugu Naval Air Station. The thudding sound of its blades continued to reverberate throughout John's entire body as it began to take flight. John glanced out the open door of the helicopter in order to watch as the ground slowly dropped away from them as the helicopter flew higher and higher. He once again felt his anxiety grown as they grew ever closer to Topanga Canyon and the impending battle. John believed that if he could somehow manage to stop Skynet from sending back the original Terminator, he may in turn save his father's life. Sadly however, John found that he was quite unsure of this fact. He exhaled a slow heavy sigh as they continued to fly; as John did this Cameron glanced over at him. At about this same moment John also looked over at her. When he did so the bright light of the rising sun immediately shown in his eyes, silhouetting Cameron at the same time. The sunlight highlighted Cameron's hair and face as John continued to look at her. She had an almost angelic appearance to John at this point. As he stared at Cameron, he felt his problems begin to fall away from him, if ever so slightly. John's anxiety level drop and he was able to relax somewhat.

"Sir…General Perry is on Channel two for you." Lieutenant Spears said through the crack of John's headphones pulling him back into reality. However, upon hearing this John did not immediately break away from his gaze at Cameron. Nevertheless he did manage to do so before anyone else took any real notice of what he was doing. John flipped one of the dials on the radio above his head,

"This is Connor." He responded,

"Sir, our scrubbed Terminator units are almost in position." John instantly recognized General Perry's voice over the radio.

"We should be arriving shortly General. Have our scrubbed units hold position until I give the go ahead." John responded.

"Yes sir." General Perry stated. John clicked the radio dial back to its original position and sat back in his seat. He glanced across the helicopter once again at Kyle, who still appeared to be lost in thought as he stared at the floor of the helicopter. John felt the sadness swell over him as he continued to look at his father as they flew closer to the Skynet base at Topanga Canyon and Kyle's impending death.

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"You son of a bitch…" Derek said in a horrified voice, as he jerked against the restraints on his arms. His eyes became slightly bloodshot from the overwhelming emotions that were now coursing through him.

"You see Lieutenant Reese…No one is safe from us." The voice coldly responded. Derek continued to stare at the metal table that was across from him, the nausea in his stomach growing worse as he did so.

"It's her…" Derek thought to himself. "I never thought Connor would ever let them get to her but they did." Lying on a steel table across the room from him was the young girl that Derek had always seen with General Connor. Derek thought for a moment trying to recall the young girls name. He found that he was having trouble thinking due to the drugs that were now coursing through his system.

"Cameron…" He finally said to himself. "That was her name." The girl that Connor had fought so hard to protect was now lying dead across the room from him. Her face was contorted into a look of excruciating pain, and her eyes, which were still open, appeared to be staring at Derek, almost as if they were looking directly into his soul. Horror gripped him as he continued to look at the young girl. Derek felt as if her eyes nearly overwhelmed him and he felt completely unable to break himself away from her cold stare. The room remained dead silent for several minutes and Derek felt that even if he could have moved he would not have been able to do so, due to the shock that was pulling itself over him.

"If we can get to her Lieutenant Reese, we can get to anyone." The voice said in a very emotionless and calculating tone. One name streaked through Derek's mind when he heard these words,

"Jesse…" He thought to himself, as he felt another burning sensation begin to travel up his arm and make its way across his chest. The room began to grow dark and Derek's vision grew blurry. The piano music continued to echo in Derek's ears and last thing he saw were the brown eyes of the young dead girl staring back at him.

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The Blackhawk Helicopter descended rapidly towards the battlefield. As Lieutenant Spears allowed the helicopter to descend he desperately attempted to avoid being struck by antiaircraft fire. When the tail wheel of the Blackhawk struck the ground it sent a slight shudder throughout the helicopter's fuselage. The front wheels then touched down and the Helicopter rolled forward slightly.

"You're clear, go!" Lieutenant Spears yelled to the group that was inside of the helicopter. John leapt from his seat and stepped out the open door of the Blackhawk Helicopter onto the sandy ground. Cameron was close behind him. The area had become consumed with battle noises. The droning blades of the helicopter still reverberated through John's body; but, now it was also accented with the sounds of explosions and plasma rifle fire. A haze of smoke hung in the air and the stench of burnt flesh and sulfur was rapidly beginning to form. John glanced around quickly seeing several other Blackhawk Helicopters landing near him in roughly the same manner that his had done. As they landed John observed soldiers begin to exit the helicopters. As soon as the men were out the Blackhawks once again began to lift off. At about this same moment several Apache Gunships streaked overhead, headed towards the Topanga Canyon base. Mixed with the sound of helicopter noise John also heard the noise of jet engines from the Skynet aerial HK's begin to grow louder and louder as they approached. John gripped the pistol grip of his plasma rifle and glanced over his shoulder at Kyle.

"You're with me!" he yelled, as he began to make his way closer to the actual battle that was raging. The entire scene had an eerie feeling of déjà vu to both John and Cameron. After all they had both been here once before, in an alternate future.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As John made his way up the battlefield with Cameron, Kyle and a few other soldiers the battle rapidly grew more intense. The group was constantly surrounded by plasma fire as they carefully moved from one position of cover to the next. Cameron felt her anxiety for John grow as each second passed. The danger surrounding him was excruciating to her.

Suddenly, she observed a T-600 standing in a clearing making its way towards them. Cameron raised her plasma rifle and fired several rounds striking it in the chest. The T-600 staggered forward a few steps and then collapsed to the ground incapacitated. Cameron was attempting to track as many threats to both she and John as possible; but with all that was going on around them it was nearly impossible for her to do so. She felt her concern for John grow worse as they continued to progress forwards. While she was able to track most of the danger in the immediate area, the Terminators and HK's that were a greater distance away, were much harder for her to follow. Just then a plasma round streaked by Cameron striking the soldier to her left in the chest. The man dropped to the ground instantly. He was more than likely dead before he even knew what had happened. Cameron quickly scanned the area finding another T-600, which was making its way over the hilly terrain towards them. She raised her rifle; but before she was able to fire she heard Kyle's plasma rifle discharge. The T-600 lurched to its right side as Kyle's round had struck it in the shoulder. John's rifle then discharged striking the T-600 in the chest. It collapsed to the ground incapacitated.

Cameron continued to scan the area ahead of them as the group moved forward, her anxiety for John's safety still ever present to her. Off in the distance she could already see the entrance to the Topanga Canyon Base. However, between her squad and the entrance were numerous Terminator units, aerial HK's, and ground HK's. The battleground flashed with plasma fire, and explosions. Apache Helicopters flew overhead as they engaged in a difficult aerial battle with the Skynet aerial HK's. The ground forces remained locked in a deadly confrontation as well.

While Cameron had believed it would have been more prudent to wait to attack Topanga Canyon until Point Mugu had been fully repaired so as to utilize their F-18 squadrons, John had informed her that he believed that they could no longer wait to invade the Skynet base. However, the resistance had managed to obtain several Apache Gunship squadrons from Point Mugu and their assistance was proving to be invaluable at the moment. In addition to this John had also managed to put together several squads of soldiers with Javelin Missile Launchers in order to combat the ground HK's that he was readily aware would be in the area.

"Have the scrubbed units push forward!" John yelled into his radio over the sounds of battle, as the group huddled behind a large boulder for cover.

"We need to get to that base entrance ASAP!" The second John finished speaking both he and Cameron simultaneously raised their plasma rifles and opened fire on an oncoming T-600. They struck the Terminator in the chest several times destroying its power source immediately. It quickly exploded into a display of sparks as it fell to the ground. John then moved from behind the boulder and began to make his way even closer to the frontlines of the battle. Cameron followed close behind, still trying to protect him as best as she could. She knew that this would only become more difficult as they made their way closer to the front lines and the entrance to the Skynet base.

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Derek awoke to the blinding light of the examination light which was still positioned over him. His head throbbed and he continued to feel dizzy and nauseated. The same piece of piano music which he had heard the entire time still continued to drone on in the background. He glanced around the room, his pupils still hurting from the blinding light which remained above him. Once again his eyes made their way over to the young dead girl's body which was still lying across the room from him. Derek's eyes locked with hers the moment he saw them. He continued to feel that the girl's eyes somehow still managed to stare deep into his soul and he could not force himself to look away.

"Where are you from Lieutenant Reese?" The voice asked. Derek looked around, still seeing no one in the room. He felt as if the music was about to drive him mad.

"Why do you care?" Derek asked with a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Because we want to get to know you…Tell me about your life." Derek was completely exhausted and he began to feel that he could no longer fight against answering the questions he was now being asked.

"Corona California…That's where I'm from." Derek said quietly, as he sighed and rested his head back on the metal table.

"Tell me more about John Connor." The voice asked. Derek grimaced as the music continued to echo in his head and he fought the urge to speak.

"Tell us about who John Connor is...What is he like?" This question confused Derek slightly. He wondered why Skynet would care about what kind of man John Connor was.

"Why do you want to know who he is?" Derek asked, still overcome with guilt for even speaking to the machines.

"Because we admire him, his determination, his spirit, his fearlessness. We hope to meet him one day." Derek ground his teeth, slightly confused as to why this voice was saying such things.

"I'm not going to help you find John Connor." He responded angrily.

"You do not have to." The voice retorted. "He will come to us." Derek quickly glanced over at the dead girl still lying motionless across from him. They psychological effect of having a beautiful dead girl staring at him was beginning to take its toll on Derek at this point.

"Would John Connor indeed come to get her back?" He asked himself.

"Do you have any siblings?" The voice asked. Derek fought to answer the question. He knew that if he did speak he would more than likely answer truthfully due to the drugs and his sheer exhaustion. Derek chose to remain silent.

"If you choose not to answer our questions we will have no further use for you." The voice stated in a flat tone. Derek sighed feeling almost completely beaten at this point.

"Good…" He responded. There was silence once again in the room. Only the music continued to play as Derek lay shivering on the cold steel table.

"Go ahead and kill me…" Derek said in a quiet voice, "I don't give a damn anymore."

"You should not respond in such a way Lieutenant Reese. You're just making things worse for yourself." Derek heard a different voice this time. The tone had changed and now the sound did not come from all around him, as it had before. The voice came from directly behind Derek. He then heard the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer to him.

"Tell me more about John Connor." The feminine voice asked. Derek glanced over to his left and felt horror sweep over him at what he saw. He tried to speak; but words escaped him as he stared on in disbelief at what was standing before him.

"Tell me EVERYTHING you know about John Connor." Derek was asked once again, as he continued to stare straight ahead as the shock swept over him.

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Authors Notes: So things are getting progressively worse for Derek. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review!!! Review!!!


	53. Chapter 53

CHAPTER 53

John crouched behind the wreckage of a destroyed ground HK, Cameron still close at his side and Kyle and a few others soldiers behind her as well. The battle continued to rage around them and the plasma fire was constantly streaking by their position. John leaned around the corner of the wreckage and fired his rifle a few times at one of the T-600's that was guarding the entrance to the Topanga Canyon Base. However, due to the great distance that was between he and the Terminator he was not able to strike it. At about this same moment a plasma round struck one of the treads of the destroyed ground HK that John and the others were behind. Sparks flew into John's face and he quickly jerked his head back flinching slightly.

"John!" Cameron said, the concern in her voice was obvious to John who immediately looked back at her,

"I'm fine…" he said. No sooner had the words left his mouth then there was a deafening roar of a jet engine. The sound overwhelmed the area around them as an aerial HK slowly emerged overtop of the group. John and the others raised their plasma rifles and opened fire in an almost futile attempt to bring down the massive aircraft. John saw one of the plasma cannon turrets located on the HK turn in their direction preparing to fire. Instantly, a swell of emotions came over him; but the emotions did not consist of concern for himself. The thought of something happening to either Cameron or Kyle horrified John. A split second before the HK opened fire on John's group it was struck in the tail by a stinger missile from one of the Apache's flying overhead. The aerial HK spun in a circle firing its plasma cannon's wildly. At this same moment, a group of soldiers that were several yards away from John fired another missile at the HK as well. The projectile streaked through the air and struck the aerial HK in the right engine. The aircraft arched over hard to its left and came crashing to the ground. John felt the heat from the explosion wash over him as the aerial HK was consumed in a massive fireball. John leaned out from behind his cover once more and looked towards the Skynet base. While the resistance was making progress, there were still hundreds of Terminators between them and their objective. There was also at least one large ground HK that was still blocking their path as well as well.

"General!" John heard Kyle yell as several rounds from a plasma rifle rang out. Both John and Cameron turned quickly to see a T-600's chest explode as it had just begun to emerge from a hill that was located near them. John glanced back at Kyle who was now looking at him. The confusion and sadness still readily apparent in Kyle's eyes. John felt the guilt and anxiety once again began to sweep over him as he stared at Kyle; the battle noises continued to drone on around them as the two soldiers looked at each other.

* * *

The incessant piano music continued to play on. Derek's body ached and he still felt extremely cold, even though the drugs he had been given continued to send waves of heat throughout his entire body. He was also covered in a cold sweat that permeated the clothes he wore. However, all of this was now a distant second in Derek's mind as he continued to stare straight ahead.

"Tell me about John Connor", the feminine voice asked. Derek remained speechless; his thoughts were now a complete blur in his mind. At this point Derek was becoming unsure of what he was seeing or even thinking for that matter. The individual standing in front of Derek now walked closer to him and leaned over Derek ever so slightly. Its brown hair hung slightly down in its face.

"Tell me about Jesse…" It asked, their was a hint of seduction in its voice when it spoke this time. Derek almost could not believe what he had just heard or for that matter what he was seeing. He blinked his eyes trying to refocus them. Derek then glanced over at the dead girl who still lay on the table across the room from him. Her brown eyes remained transfixed on Derek and they still maintained their look of terror as he stared into them. Derek then glanced back up at the individual standing over him, then back at the dead girl. Derek came to the horrifying realization that they both looked exactly the same. Derek knew about infiltrator units and he was readily aware of the fact that the T-800 series was able to mimic humans; but this particular scenario coupled with the drugs was nearly to much for him to handle. The Terminator standing over him was an exact replica of the poor girl lying on the table across the room. Terror gripped Derek as he realized that this one particular Terminator would more than likely be able to get closer to John Connor than anyone else could. Still staring at him the Terminator spoke again.

"Tell me about her…" Derek blinked his eyes again somewhat gripping the table as the nausea and feelings of dizziness made him still feel as if the room were spinning.

"What?" he asked.

"Tell me about Jesse." The Terminator asked still some seduction behind its voice.

"How do you know about Jesse?" Derek asked some fear present behind the tone of his own voice.

"You said her name while you were unconscious." Derek felt fear continue to grip him. He wondered what else he could have said. "You also mentioned Kyle…" The Terminator continued. Derek rolled his head back on the table trying to fight back his tears.

"Tell me about her." The Terminator asked. "Why is she so important to you?" Derek struggled not answer; but felt that it was almost a futile attempt seeing as how he was now completely unsure of what he had and had not already said.

"You are romantically involved with this person aren't you?" The Terminator asked in a sly tone. Derek did not answer. The Terminator moved slightly closer to him. When it did so, Derek noticed that its movements were almost feline in nature. The Terminator had a certain elegant almost sensual nature about it as it as it glided over to him. It then glanced over at the dead girl near the corner of the room.

"Do you know who that is?" It asked, as it motioned with its head towards the girls body. Derek fought hard not to respond. "That was John Connor's best friend. Possibly even his lover." The Terminator leaned closer to Derek now just inches away from his face and whispered,

"If we can get to her…We can get to anyone…" Fear gripped Derek. The Terminator pulled back away from Derek; but continued to stand over him.

"Are you involved with this Jesse?" It asked one more time. Finally, Derek broke and responded,

"Yes…"

"Do you love her?"

"Yes…" Derek ground his teeth as he responded.

"And who is Kyle?" Derek swallowed a hard swallow.

"He's my brother…" Derek felt a tear roll down the corner of his eye as he lay on the cold steel table.

"You and he work out of the same base in this area don't you?"

"Yes…" Derek again responded instantly feeling the guilt grow worse.

"Why do you love Jesse?" It asked. Derek was slightly confused by this line of questioning.

"Why do I love her?" He asked.

"Yes." It responded. Derek searched his thoughts. He could barely keep a fluidic thought in his mind at this point; but thoughts of Jesse seemed to be slightly clearer to him.

"I don't know…" He responded quietly. The Terminator looked at him and slightly tilted its head to the side. "She was there when I needed her." Derek continued.

"And what about Kyle?"

"He's my brother. He's all I've got."

"Except for Jesse…" The Terminator responded. Derek found the insightfulness of that statement highly disturbing. "Where is Kyle now?" It asked.

"I don't know." Derek responded.

"Is he not at your base?" For the first time Derek was actually glad he did not know the whereabouts of his brother so that he would not be able to give away any further information.

"I don't know." Derek responded in a broken tone of voice. There was silence for a moment as the Terminator continued to stare at Derek. He found it horrifying how the Terminator's eyes looked exactly like the dead girls eyes. Currently, the only sound in the room was the piano music. Derek loathed this song. He didn't even know what song it was; but he knew he never wanted to hear it again. The Terminator continued to stare Derek down. He felt at this point as if the only thing in the room that was not actually moving was the Terminator itself and he was almost forced to look at it to keep from becoming sick. However, by looking at it an even sicker feeling crept over him. Derek grimaced and closed his eyes for a moment trying to regain his composure. He heard footsteps getting closer to him on his right side. He looked over and saw the Terminator standing next to him. It looked down at him,

"Tell me about John Connor." It asked once again. Derek fought not to respond as he looked away from the Terminator. Then he felt the burning sensation begin to travel up his arm once again. He snapped his head back over to his right and observed the Terminator turning a dial on the computer controlled IV that was attached to his arm. It was pumping more drugs into his system. Derek's vision grew blurry and the room began to spin and grow darker. His head rolled back over to his left and he saw the staring eyes of the dead girl looking at him once again before everything went black.

* * *

John crouched down in the small trench that he and the rest of his group were located in. He pressed the earpiece of his radio headset close to his ear in order for him to hear over the battle noises.

"Most of our scrubbed Terminators are destroyed; but we still have a few that are close to the main entrance!" General Perry yelled into the radio to John so as to be heard over the sounds of combat.

"Have them hold their position temporarily! I wanna get a bit closer before we have them go in any further! We're gonna need their help to get into that place!"

"Yes Sir!" General Perry responded. After he finished speaking John glanced around for a moment. Cameron was still standing at his side firing her plasma rifle as was Kyle who was just a few feet away from her, along with two other soldiers as well. John felt an odd feeling of familiarity come over him; but he was not sure as to why for a moment. Then he instantly realized that this was the very same trench he and Kyle had been in together during their first battle at Topanga Canyon. The nostalgia did not last long however as John was instantly snapped out his momentary daze when a plasma round struck the top of the trench just in front of Cameron. The ground exploded spraying dirt into her face. However, Cameron did not flinch. Nevertheless, the thought that something was shooting at Cameron infuriated John. He clenched his jaw and leaned out of the small trench with his plasma rifle raised. He scanned the area in front of him; the battlefield was littered with the bodies of both humans and Terminators. A dense smoke was hanging in the area from all of the explosions and weapons fire. Even though it was daylight, John could still see the flashes of plasma rifle and plasma cannon fire flashing off the shadows on the interior walls of the canyon. A ground HK was still positioned relatively close to the front entrance of the Skynet base and aerial HK's and Apache's still flew overhead drowning the area in jet engine and helicopter blade noise.

John continued to look ahead and observed several T-600 units coming towards them. He took aim with his plasma rifle and fired off a few rounds striking one of the T-600's in the shoulder. Its body lurched back; but it quickly recovered and returned fire at John who ducked behind the trench with Cameron just in time. John was about to stand to fire another volley when he was suddenly shoved hard to his left, the impact knocked him of his feet and to the ground. John was confused for all but a split second until he saw a plasma round strike the area he had just been kneeling in. He glanced behind the group to see another T-600 emerging from behind the trench where they were all located. After shoving John out of the way Cameron turned her body quickly around and aimed at the T-600 which was now about to drop down into the trench where they were. Just a moment before it did so John heard Cameron's rifle discharge and the T-600 was struck in the chest. It lurched backwards upon being hit, and then lost its footing. The T-600's feet slipped on the loose sand and it came crashing down onto its back and then slide into the trench falling in-between John and Cameron. Cameron quickly took aim at the T-600's head and fired another round through the T-600's skull before it was able to recover. She then glanced back up at John. Her hair was slightly disheveled from the constant movement of being in battle; her clothes were covered in dirt, and blood of other soldiers. Her face was also smeared with dirt and soot. John also noticed at this point that she was still amazingly beautiful to him.

"Thank you…" he replied, still in the seated position from where she had pushed him. Still keeping her head below the trench line Cameron stepped over the disabled Terminator's body and held out her hand to help John up. As she did so, she gave him a slight smile.

"You're welcome." She replied. John quickly took her hand and she pulled him to his feet.

"General I think the they're trying to outflank us." Kyle called to John who then proceeded to glance out of the trench. Once again he saw a small group of T-600's in the distance making their way around to the right side of the trench where they were all located. So far, they were well out of range of plasma rifle fire; but given their present speed, they would be able to outflank and overcome John's group relatively soon. John quickly scanned the sky above him seeing that he had no air support; nor would he be able to call any Apaches in by the looks of things. He depressed the talk button on the radio on his hip, and began speaking into the microphone located on his headset.

"General Perry I'm about to get outflanked do you have anyone that can assist?" There was momentary silence where all John could hear was battle noise.

"I don't think so Sir. We're being pinned down by the ground HK. And the rest of our units are taking heavy fire from aerial HK's or those damn T-600's. I'll try to get someone to you though; but, it may take some time." John thought for a moment watching as the small group of T-600's made their way closer to his squad. He glanced around the battlefield seeing that the majority of his army had come under heavy fire. Most of the soldiers had taken cover behind whatever they could find and it did not appear that any of them would be able to assist him anytime soon.

"John, I can get around them." Cameron said, it was apparent at this point, that she had also been listening to John and Perry's radio exchange. John hesitated for a moment. For the first time in battle, he felt sheer terror at the thought of sending someone on a mission. He had felt sadness, regret, remorse, and nervousness about missions before; but never anything like this. Conflicting emotions flooded over John as he continued to weigh the possibilities as the battle sounds continued to fill his ears. Seeing the obvious conflict going on within John, Cameron reached out and grabbed him by the hand.

"I will come back to you…I promise." The instant Cameron touched John's hand, he felt as if the battle noise dropped away and everything grew strangely quite and came into focus. When Cameron spoke the words "I promise", he felt his anxiety level begin to subside slightly. She had never broken a promise to him before and he doubted if she would start now. John squeezed her hand.

"Go…" he said. Cameron nodded her head and then glanced above the trench they were in waiting for a momentary pause in the firefight. The second it occurred, she leapt out of the trench and ran across the battlefield. John watched as she did so. He felt as if his heart was in his throat as Cameron ran across the battlefield. It almost felt as if the entire scenario was playing out in slow motion before him as Cameron dodge from left to right avoiding the plasma rounds and explosions which blanketed the area.

"Please God let her come back to me…" John whispered as she ran.

* * *

Cameron ran as fast as she could across the sandy battlefield of Topanga Canyon. Plasma rounds streaking by her and explosions occurring all around her. She ran in a semi circular pattern around the small group of T-600's that were attempting to outflank John's squad.

"I have to do this." She thought to herself, "I can't let anything happen to him." Suddenly, she heard a loud explosion and Cameron was violently knocked off her feet by the shockwave from the detonation of an enemy missile that had impacted the area near her. The heat from the explosion swept over her as she was knocked down. She hit the ground hard with a thud and she heard the metallic clank of her metal endoskeleton impact on some of the rocks that she had just landed on.

* * *

"Cameron!" John called when he saw her hit the ground. However, by this point, Cameron was such a distance away that she was not able to hear John call her name. What horrified John more was the fact that Cameron did not immediately get up. When this occurred, John started to climb out of the trench that he and his squad were in. He was suddenly grabbed from behind,

"General!!" Kyle called out as he pulled John back into the trench. "You'll never make it." John glanced over at Kyle with an angry look for a split second and then back out at Cameron who was still lying on the ground.

"Please…" John whispered as anxiety and fear for Cameron swept over him.

* * *

Cameron's heads up display flickered momentarily with static and then cleared. She quickly looked over herself and ascertained that she had not taken any significant damage other than a few minor cuts which did not appear to have expose her endoskeleton. The momentary glitch in her display had been caused by her impact with the ground. After it cleared Cameron hastily got up, grabbed her rifle, and began to run across the battlefield once again. The Sounds of explosions and rifle fire still echoing off the canyon walls as she ran. At this point Cameron also made sure to avoid tripping over the bodies of both humans and Terminators that littered the ground in front of her as she navigated the battlefield. After a few more seconds Cameron had finally made it to the canyon wall opposite John's squad and behind the small group of T-600's that were now about to outflank them. She pressed herself up against the wall and prepared to fire.

* * *

John and Kyle ducked down into the trench they were in as plasma fire began to explode around them. Suddenly, one of the soldiers that was in John's squad was struck in the head by a plasma round. Blood sprayed across John and Kyle as the man instantly fell to the ground dead. The remaining soldier instinctively ducked further below the trench when this occurred.

"We sure could use your girlfriends help about now!" Kyle yelled, a slight amount of sarcasm in the tone of his voice as he stood and fired off a few more rounds in the general direction of the oncoming T-600's; however, he was not able to strike any of them.

* * *

Cameron leaned out from behind the small depression in the Canyon wall taking aim at one of the T-600's that was now firing on the trench where John was located. Cameron was slightly surprised to find that at that specific moment she felt anger began to creep over her upon seeing the Terminators attempt to kill John. She focused in on the front site of her rifle as she aimed at one of the T-600's. She then slowly squeezed the trigger and instantly felt the recoil in her shoulder as the rifle discharged. A plasma round streaked through the air and struck one of the T-600's in the back of the head blowing out its metallic face instantly. It staggered for a brief second then collapsed to the ground. Before the rest of the T-600's could react to the threat that was now behind them a second plasma round struck another one in the head. This time the high heat round tore out a chunk of the Terminators metallic skull. The T-600 twisted around from the impact and then proceeded to collapse to the ground on its back. The remaining three T-600's quickly turned towards Cameron's position and began to fire. She ducked behind the small alcove in the canyon wall as the plasma rounds began to explode all around of her. She pressed her body up against the wall trying to avoid being hit.

* * *

Noticing that the plasma fire around their position had suddenly ceased John, Kyle and the remaining soldier slowly glanced above the trench to survey their surrounds. John instantly noticed that Cameron was now taking heavy fire from the remaining three T-600's. A torrent of rage flooded over him and before he even had a chance to think he raised his plasma rifle and fired. The plasma round streaked by the face of the solder standing next to Kyle just barely missing him.

"Shit!" The soldier said as he jerked his head back, nearly falling back into the trench. John's round flew through the air and struck one of the T-600's in the back knocking it forwards. As it began to turn, John fired a second round striking it in the upper shoulder. It again stumbled slightly before turning to face towards John and his squad while the other two T-600's continued to fire on Cameron's position. John fired a third, fourth, and fifth round striking the Terminator each time in the chest. It quickly collapsed to its knee's and fell forwards. The soldier still standing next to Kyle still had a look of shock on his face after having a plasma round come so close to striking him.

"Parker, You alright?" John called out as he again took aim at another Terminator.

"Ye…Yes sir." Parker said slightly stuttering from the surprise. As John continued to fire both Kyle and Parker also raised their rifles and began to fire on the two remaining T-600's that still had their backs to the group.

* * *

Cameron tried to lean out and away from the canyon wall in order to shoot back; but every time she did so she was nearly struck by a plasma round. Bits and pieces of the rock wall exploded around her as she tried to remain behind cover. It quickly became apparent to her that she was now trapped and could very well be destroyed at any moment. While Cameron had faced destruction many times before she often found that at times such as these did occur her thoughts would often turn to John. These thoughts often brought a calming sensation to her. The noise of the battlefield seemed to become a distant second to Cameron even though the plasma fire seemed to be increasing around her as the T-600's grew closer to her position. Cameron noticed that there was never any specific thought about John that would come to mind, it was more random thoughts of him. Cameron continued to press herself up against the Canyon wall hearing the plasma fire growing louder and louder as the canyon wall continued to be torn apart from the tiny explosions the plasma rounds were causing. Cameron estimated that she only had seconds before the T-600's reached her and were able to get a clear shot. Thoughts of John still drifted through her memory, suddenly one particular thought shot through her memory and she heard John's voice almost as if he were standing right next to her,

"I love you…" he whispered in her thoughts.

* * *

Kyle took aim focusing on one of the Terminators that was walking away from his trench and towards Cameron. While the distance was significant it was still within range. The plasma rifle fire echoed around him as he squinted down the barrel of his rifle. The distant body of the T-600 slightly blurred as his focus shifted to his front site. Kyle slowly pressed the trigger of his rifle and heard it discharge. The plasma round flew through the air and an instant later struck one of the T-600's in the back. It lurched forward falling to the ground; but was able to catch itself with its hands before it fell flat. The second T-600 turned quickly back towards John and Kyle's position and began to fire at the trench once again. At this same moment the downed T-600 slowly began to fight its way back to its feet. At this same time it also started to raise its rifle once again towards Cameron's position.

* * *

Noticing the momentary break in the plasma fire Cameron leaned out from behind the small depression in the wall and saw that one of the T-600's had now turned away from her position and was firing on John's location once again. The second T-600 was on its hands and knees; but was fighting to stand and was raising its rifle towards her. Cameron quickly raised her rifle and fired off three rounds in quick succession striking the T-600 each time. It once again collapsed to the ground not rising this time. Cameron then quickly took aim at the last remaining T-600. She squeezed the trigger to her rifle and it fired. The plasma round tore through the air and struck the T-600 in the back. It's chest exploded outwards in a display of sparks as its power source exploded. It dropped almost instantly to the ground completely disabled. Cameron scanned the trench that John was in, checking to see if he was injured. She quickly saw his face come up from behind the trench as he looked over at her. Even though she was quite a distance away from him and she was not completely sure he could see her facial expression she gave him a slight smile and winked at him almost as if saying, "Told you so.".

* * *

Even though the area around John was still enveloped by plasma fire he, Kyle, and Parker were no longer in any immediate danger. As John looked over at Cameron he noticed her give him a smile and a wink. John suddenly had a flash of the first time she had ever done this. It was shortly after she had covered for him to his mother about Cromartie coming to his school looking for him. That moment seemed to almost be in another lifetime for John, had it not been for the fact that Cameron had been there with him.

"John, are you alright?" John suddenly heard Cameron's voice crackle over the radio headset he was still wearing. He depressed the talk button on his belt,

"Yeah I'm fine." There was a momentary pause in the radio traffic between John and Cameron as it appeared that neither of them knew exactly what to say to the other over a radio that potentially everyone else could be listening to. Finally, pulling himself back into the battle John spoke again.

"Cameron do you see that hill near the entrance to the base…It's about 100 feet from here." There was a pause.

"I see it."

"Meet us there, we need to try and take out that ground HK that is pinning down Perry and his men so that we can gain access to the base."

"I will be there." Cameron responded, a certain sense of confidence in her voice. There was another momentary pause where John desperate wanted to say more; but did not. He then glanced over at Kyle and Parker.

"Lets go!" He yelled as he began to climb out of the trench.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so things are getting slightly better for the resistance while things are getting far worse for Derek. Hope you guys enjoyed. Review!!! Review!!!


	54. Chapter 54

CHAPTER 54

Derek awoke to the same droning piece of piano music that had been playing the entire time that he had been captured. His body ached, and his right arm where the IV was located throbbed with pain. He was still extremely cold; yet, the burning sensations continued to travel throughout his body. Derek's head pounded and he felt the cold sweat running down his forehead. He still felt dizzy and nauseated and the incessant music was not making the situation any better. Without looking around to ascertain who was currently in the room with him, Derek spoke,

"Don't you machines know a different song?" There was a slight bit of annoyance hidden behind his tone.

"You do not like this song Lieutenant Reese?" The voice of the female Terminator was heard almost the second the words left Derek's mouth. He cursed himself once again for speaking to it.

"It is Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp Minor." The Terminator stated in a flat tone. It paused for a moment and then looked over at the dead girl's body that was still located across the room.

"She told us that her mother was a music teacher and that she would sit and listen to Chopin for hours." The Terminators tone was cold and emotionless when it spoke. Derek felt a shiver travel down his spine as he heard it speak those words. The Terminator slowly moved from where it was standing over to Derek's table.

"She also told us her father was an architect…" It paused for a moment. "He taught her how to draw." Derek felt his fear growing more intense as the Terminator drew closer to him.

"Her last birthday before Judgment Day was in Griffin Park. She told her father she wanted a Solar Mountain Bike." It stated, still in its cold and callus tone as it leaned over Derek. The Terminator proceeded to lower its head down to mere inches from Derek's face. As it did so the Terminator's hair fell down around its face, almost brushing up against Derek's face as well. It stared into his eyes. As it did so, Derek felt his anxiety beginning to spiral out of control. The music, the drugs, the psychological chess match the Terminator was playing with him; it was all getting to him. The Terminator slowly tilted its head to one side as it looked at Derek; it then gradually tilted its head back to the other side. Its brown eyes continuing to stare deep into Derek's soul. He felt his respiration and heart rate increase as the female Terminator loomed over him. Thought's of what it might do flashed through his mind. Finally, the Terminator pulled back away from Derek; but continued to stand over him.

"Why did you choose Billy Wisher to die?" It asked still no emotion in its voice. Derek swallowed and fought hard not to answer the question. The Terminator once again tilted its head to the side.

"Do you know his name is not Billy Wisher?" Derek's eyes widened, as a slightly arrogant smirk came across the Terminators face as it began to pace around Derek's table in a circular pattern.

"His name is Andy Goode." Derek ground his teeth in frustration and anger, completely unsure of what to think at this point. His head was still spinning, nausea gripped his stomach, he shivered from the cold, there did not appear to be a place on his body that was not in pain, and the piano music just would NOT stop.

"But, you already knew that didn't you?" The Terminator said, its voice shifting to a more sly tone. It was now up by the head of the table near Derek's head. It leaned over and whispered in Derek's ear,

"Do you know what Andy Goode did?" It asked in almost a seductive tone.

"No…" Derek said in a painful voice, fighting for each thought that he had. The Terminator continued to whisper in Derek's ear.

"He helped create Skynet." Derek felt the fear rush over him again.

"He wasn't lying." Derek thought to himself. The Terminator pulled away from Derek and once again began to pace around his table.

"But, you already knew that too didn't you?" It asked, as it turned and looked at him with another slightly arrogant smile. "That's why you chose him to die isn't it?" Derek struggled not to say anything as the drugs continued to wear away at his psyche. Now on his left side the Terminator again leaned closer to Derek and looked him in the eye.

"That's the reason you chose him isn't it Lieutenant Reese." Derek ground his teeth still fighting not to say anything. The Terminator paused for a brief moment, then its eyes narrowed slightly as it continued to give Derek an arrogant smile.

"Does Jesse like Australia?" It whispered. Derek looked at the Terminator with horror in his eyes, and then he slipped,

"How…" He stopped himself before finishing the statement; but he already knew that he had given away the fact that the information the Terminator had was correct. The Terminator pulled back away from Derek again.

"You told us." It said in another seductive tone. Derek felt a tear run down the side of his face. The Terminator continued to stare at him.

"I happen to know that Perth is lovely this time of year." It said shifting to another sly tone. Finally, overcome with emotions Derek snapped. He jerked up against his metal restraints desperately trying to reach for Terminator.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU METAL BITCH!!!" He screamed as he attempted to free himself from his shackles. As he did so, he felt shooting pain travel throughout his entire body. The Terminator did not move; but continued to stare at him with the same arrogant smile. Derek strained against the metal stocks that were securing his arms and legs; but they did not move. After several seconds of struggling he collapsed back down onto the table. Derek began to feel his breathing become more erratic as he tried to fight back his tears. He could still hear the music echoing throughout the room as he lay on the cold metal table. Derek felt as if the music almost seemed to be growing louder as each second passed. The Terminator stepped closer to Derek once again.

"That's the reason why you wanted your friend Billy Wisher to die isn't it?" Still overcome with emotions and unable to control himself, Derek responded.

"YES DAMN IT!!! That's why I wanted him to die!!! He created you and he should die because of it!!" Derek then began to cry. "He told me he did all of this…And if I could, I would kill him with my bear hands." The female Terminator paused and then appeared to take a breath of air as it continued to stare down at him. Its shoulders rose slightly as its chest expanded outward from the breath it took.

"Good Lieutenant Reese." It said. "You see it is much easier when you cooperate with us." Derek glared at the Terminator with hatred in his eyes.

"I'm not your enemy." It stated, "I want to get to know you." Derek's eyes then suddenly darted across the room, to the young girl's dead body. Her brown eyes still appeared to stare deep into his soul. The Terminator glanced over at the girl's body and then back at Derek.

"She was very beautiful wasn't she?" The Terminator asked. Defeated Derek nodded his head. "How long had John Connor been with her?" Derek felt almost as if he didn't care anymore.

"I don't know." He responded, "Years I think…For as long as I knew him, she was always there with him." Derek continued to stare into the young girl's eyes not paying attention to where the Terminator was located or what it was doing.

"Your brother and John Connor are close aren't they?" Derek snapped his eyes back over to the Terminator, which was now on his right side. It gave him another smirk.

"Your brother…Kyle." It said. Derek closed his eyes cursing himself. He then once again heard the whisper from the Terminator in in his ear,

"Tell me about Kyle."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chief Warrant Officer Stephenson's Apache shuttered as a rocket exploded in the sky next to his aircraft. He yanked the control stick hard over to his left and the Apache turned hard, throwing his gunner, Warrant Officer Miller into the right side of his seat. Stephenson glanced over his right shoulder as he brought the Apache down into a spiral pattern, diving closer to the ground. Missiles, rockets, and plasma rounds from both aerial HK's and Skynet ground forces filled the air around them. The droning sound of the helicopter blades seemed to reverberate throughout Stephenson and Miller's body as they continued their downward decent. Miller scanned the horizon trying to pick out a target as the earth rushed towards them. The ground that was below them appeared to swarming with T-600's. Miller also saw that there were several ground HK's dispersed throughout the canyon as well. As the Apache leveled out at approximately one hundred feet above the ground, Miller looked into his targeting scope attempting to pick out a suitable enemy target from his computer display. Stephenson continued to rock the Apache from side to side, as they flew ahead trying to avoid being struck by enemy fire as they made their way closer to the actual Skynet base.

As Stephenson flew the Apache low along the ground, he scanned the horizon at the same time. He immediately sited several ground troops that were about to be overtaken by a larger group of T-600's. Stephenson pulled back on his control stick bring the nose of the Apache up slightly, slowing the helicopter's speed.

"To our right we've got a couple of ground units that could use our help." Stephenson stated to Miller as he glanced over to his right side seeing a group of T-600's that were about to overtake the small squad of resistance soldiers that were fighting furiously for their lives. Using a controller Miller swung the Target Acquisition and Designation System on the nose of the Apache over in the direction towards the T-600's. The helicopter's 30mm cannon followed the TAD's system as well. Looking through the targeting display Miller was easily able to pick out several of the Terminators as targets. Within seconds, the steady drone of the 30mm cannon could be heard and Miller watched as the rounds tore through the T-600's metal bodies. The depleted uranium rounds shattered the endoskeletons of the Terminators and they virtually exploded the instant they were struck. Within seconds the group of T-600's had been significantly reduced in size and Stephenson allowed the Apache to fly further ahead into the battle.

Miller continued to survey his surrounding area as he observed a few rockets streak by the helicopter. Suddenly, alarms began to sound inside of the cockpit. Miller looked over his shoulder as this occurred.

"HK!!! HK!!!" Stephenson yelled, yanking back hard on the control stick putting the helicopter into a near vertical ascent trying to elude the aerial HK that had now taken up position behind them. Miller was thrust back into his seat as the Apache flew skywards. He could hear the jet turbine engines of the helicopter roar to life as they continued their rapid assent. After several seconds Stephenson allowed the helicopter to level out; but only momentarily before putting the Apache back into a sharp dive towards the ground and the HK that was now about to fly past them. Miller instinctively grabbed onto one of the handles inside of the cockpit as the aerial HK streaked past them firing its plasma cannons as it did so. The Apache shuddered as a few errant rounds struck the fuselage. They were however, not struck in any critical area's.

"We've been hit." Miller said.

"I know." Stephenson responded in a bland tone, as he pulled back on the stick leveling the helicopter back out once again. As he did this, Stephenson swung the tail of the Apache around bringing the helicopter about, in order to try and face the aerial HK so as to get a clear shot. As he did this the much faster and more agile HK streaked by them once again. The aerial HK then dove down below their position.

"Come on!" Stephenson growled as he put the helicopter back into a dive trying to keep up with the HK. Miller watched as the Skynet aircraft leveled out once again, hovered momentarily, and then began to move away from their aircraft. Stephenson watched this as well, the aerial HK then began to move in a large circular pattern around their Apache.

"He's coming around, he's coming around!" Miller yelled as the HK began to creep back into position behind them. Stephenson pulled the control stick over to his right and the Apache pitched hard over as he tried to elude the aerial HK. At this same time, Stephenson allowed the Apache to continue on both its downward and slightly forward trajectory, creating another spiral pattern. The ground quickly grew closer as he did this. Miller saw walls of the Canyon rush past the cockpit windows as they continued to move rapidly towards the earth. Mere seconds before they collided with the ground, Stephenson yanked back hard on the controls leveling the helicopter out at approximately 20 feet from the ground. The sand kicked up all around the Apache from the massive amount of wind the rotor blades were producing. Pushing the controls hard over Stephenson quickly swung the tail of the helicopter around once again. The Apache was now facing the rapidly oncoming HK, which streaked through the Canyon towards them.

"Kill him now!" Miller yelled. As he had already begun to lock onto the aerial HK using his TAD's system. Stephenson depressed the trigger on his control stick and a stinger missile quickly streaked from the wing of the Apache and flew through the air and towards the HK. The missile streaked through the Canyon towards the aerial HK which quickly arched skyward momentarily avoiding contact with the projectile. As the HK continued to climb, Stephenson watched as the Singer missile changed course also arching skywards towards the aerial HK which continued the climb rapidly. The missile's contrail could be seen behind it as it closed quickly on the HK which continued to fly erratically, desperately trying to avoid being hit. The missile moved closer and closer to the aerial HK as the aircraft quickly leveled out and then began to dive towards the ground once again. As it did so, the missile rapidly closed the distance between it and the HK, finally striking the aircraft in the support between the fuselage and the right engine. The explosion tore the right engine completely off and the aerial HK spun wildly towards the ground leaving a trail of smoke behind it as it did so. Soon after this happened Stephenson moved the Apache further away from the ground and back towards the frontlines of the battle.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John glanced over the small hill he, Cameron, Kyle, and Parker were couched behind. John estimated that they were now only one hundred yards from the entrance of the Topanga Canyon base. However, between them and the entrance were numerous T-600's and one large ground HK. Also, just as before John noticed a small roadway running into the entrance of the base. On the other side of the road about one hundred and fifty yards away from his position John saw General Perry, his troops, and the last of the scrubbed Terminator units. They were all being pinned down by the ground HK. While General Perry and his forces were keeping the HK at bay and not allowing it or the Skynet units to overrun their position they were still not able to make any type of forward movement. The resistance had managed to beat back the majority of the Skynet forces all the way to the entrance of the base. And unlike in the alternate future timeline that John had once been a part of, this resistance was much more organized and methodical with its efforts. Nevertheless, there was still fighting going on throughout the canyon in certain areas. This was still a start contrast from the alternate future where the resistance had been scattered very haphazardly throughout the entire battlefield. However, unless something was done soon, it would only be a matter of time before Skynet would be able to reorganize and push the resistance back once again.

John looked around the battlefield. The smoke from fires and explosions was still trapped within the canyon walls and produced an almost fog like effect. Sounds of battle continued to echo off the rock walls making it even harder for John to hear any type of radio traffic that was coming through his headset. The plasma fire in the area was still almost constant around John's group as well. The Apaches above him were locked in a continuous dog fight with the aerial HK's and would more than likely not be able to assist at all in the assault on the ground HK. John depressed the talk button on the radio on his hip,

"Any unit near the front lines with a Javelin?!" He shouted into his radio mic, so as to be heard over the sounds of the battle. At this same time he suddenly heard Cameron's rifle begin to discharge as she had just taken aim at and fired upon an on coming T-600. Kyle and Parker soon followed suit. The distant T-600 collapsed to the ground after being struck multiple times. John began to feel the frustration rise within him, as he knew that Perry and his men would not be able to hold off the ground HK for much longer. Again he depressed the talk button on his radio.

"Any unit near the front lines with a Javelin!?" He shouted again. The radio cracked; but just as John heard a voice come over the radio there was a loud explosion from a grenade round just on the other side of the small hill he and his group were located behind. Sand flew into the air and came raining down onto John. He then observed Cameron bring herself up to the kneeling position and begin to fire over the hill at what was now several oncoming T-600's. One of which had a grenade launcher in its hand. Still in the prone position Kyle and Parker also opened fire.

"Son of a bitch…" John muttered. He depressed the talk button once again on his radio, "Last unit repeat your traffic!" There was a few seconds of static and then a voice broke through,

"This is Corporal Chambers General, I have a Javelin and I'm on my way to your position!" Both men continued to yell over the radio due to the sound of battle.

"Get up here ASAP; we need to take out that ground HK!" John responded.

"ETA 3 minutes…" Chambers stated. No sooner had chambers finished his sentence when John heard a plasma round rip through the air above his head. He rolled back over onto his stomach bringing up his plasma rifle in front of him and began to fire at the closest T-600.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Corporal Anthony Chambers and Private First Class Jamie Ryan ran across the battlefield. Chambers could feel the strap attached to the heavy Javelin Missile Launcher that was slung over his shoulder press into him as they ran. The weight of the weapon significantly reduced Chambers ability to sprint at any significant speed. Ryan remained near Chambers however; firing his plasma rifle every so often, picking off a random Terminator as they continued to make their way through the canyon. The deafening sound of helicopter blades and jet engines still surrounded them as aerial HK's and Apaches flew overhead. The aerial aircraft remained locked in a viscous aerial battle with one another. Eventually Chambers and Ryan were able to make their way to a large boulder located along the side of the canyon wall and utilize it for cover.

"I see him!" Chambers yelled to Ryan as he scanned the area in front of them. As Chambers did this he motioned with his hand towards John Connor's location behind a small hill across the canyon from them. John and his group were taking heavy fire from several oncoming T-600's; but they were managing to keep the Skynet units at bay. Chambers also saw that approximately one hundred yards in front of John's position was the large ground HK. Chambers depressed the talk button on his radio on his hip,

"General Connor this is Corporal Chambers…" Chambers watched as John slid back down behind the hill he was behind so that he would be able to better communicate with him.

"Go ahead Chambers." John said,

"I'm about one hundred feet to your southeast, I'm gonna try and take out that ground HK from here." Chambers saw John look over towards him from behind the hill he was currently located at. John nodded his head,

"Take'm out son!" He said. Chambers removed the cover from the front of the Javelin Missile launcher in preparation to fire it. At this same moment the open side of the boulder they were located behind suddenly began to explode from plasma fire. Chambers stepped back towards the canyon wall trying to duck behind cover once again. As this happened Ryan leaned out from behind the boulder and began to fire at the oncoming T-600's. Just then, a small portion of the boulder in front of Ryan's head exploded from a plasma round. He was instantly struck in the face by shards of rock. Ryan fell backwards onto the ground grabbing his face and screaming in pain as the blood begin to run down his face.

"Shit!" Chambers yelled as he dropped the Javelin the ground and pulled his plasma rifle from his shoulder and leaned out from behind the rock and began to fire. When he did so he realized that there were now three T-600's rapidly approaching their position. Chambers doubted that he would be able to hold all of them off and fire the Javelin missile at the same time.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John fired furiously at the oncoming T-600's. His army's forward advance was at a virtual standstill now and would continue to be until Chambers managed to destroy the ground HK. As John continued to fire Cameron glanced over her shoulder at Chambers and Ryan's position. She quickly ascertained that they were about to be overrun by the three T-600's that were closing on their position. Cameron slid down behind the small hill she was leaning up against and then proceeded to pull herself into a kneeling position and took aim. She rapidly calculated the exact distance and firing style so as to strike the T-600 that was closest to Chambers. Cameron then carefully focused in on her rifle's sites and squeezed the trigger, she instantly heard the plasma rifle discharge. The round streaked through the air and struck one of the advancing T-600's in the back of the head knocking it forwards and towards the ground, sparks flying from the hole in its skull as it fell. Before the other T-600's could make any type of evasive action Cameron took aim at the second Terminator and fired once again. This round struck the T-600 square in the back tearing through its metal frame and ripping apart its power source. The T-600's chest exploded outward and it collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap almost instantly.

The third T-600 had now turned towards Cameron's position and was preparing to fire. However, a split second before it was able to do so, it was struck in the side by two rounds from Chamber's and Ryan's plasma rifles. It stumbled over to its side nearly losing its footing. Cameron then pressed the trigger on her rifle once more. Her plasma round ripped through the air and struck the T-600 in the head. The Terminator's back arched and it collapsed to the earth. A few moments after this happened Cameron reached for the radio on her belt and pressed the talk button,

"You're clear! Take the HK out now!" she stated. Cameron watched as Chambers came back around from behind the boulder with the large Javelin Missile Launcher. After taking a few seconds to properly site the launcher Cameron saw a quick flash as the missile was first ejected from the front of the launcher, a split second later the primary rocket booster engaged and the missile streaked skyward. It rose to an altitude of what Cameron estimated was three hundred and fifty feet. It then arched downwards quickly towards the position of the ground HK. A few seconds later the missile made contact with the top of its target. The entire upper section of the ground HK was instantly torn apart in a massive explosion. Seconds after this occurred the HK's plasma cannons went silent. Chambers looked over at Cameron from the position where he was located, as he did this he pressed the talk button on his radio,

"Thank you…" He stated, knowing that more than likely Cameron had just saved his life along with Ryan's and possibly the entire resistance.

"You're welcome…" Cameron responded, she then turned from looking at Chambers and began to fire once again at the T-600's that were nearing she and John's position.

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Authors Notes: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Review!! Review!!


	55. Chapter 55

CHAPTER 55

"Oh, I thought it'd be over by now…" Derek said, his voice filled with pain as he rapidly exhaled, obviously struggling to breathe.

"You're ready for it…" Jesse replied with a certain hint of sadness behind her voice as she looked over at him from her hospital bed inside of Serrano point.

"No…No I'm not…" Derek replied, still struggling to breathe and to talk at the same time.

"Then what were you doing when I found you outside of Eagle Rock?" Jesse asked.

"I think…" Derek paused for a moment struggling to take another breath, "I was waiting…For you…" Derek said as he slowly looked over at Jesse who began to cough violently after he finished speaking.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Derek's vision blurred and then refocused slightly as he was brought back to reality. The blinding examination light was still above him and currently prevented Derek from being able to see anything around him just yet. His body continued to ache, as he felt both waves of hot and cold course throughout his body. The burning sensation would subside for a brief moment only to be followed by chills. The two sensations seemed to alternate back and forth. Derek also continued to hear the same piece of Chopin music playing over and over again inside of the room.

"It was a dream." Derek thought to himself as the realization as to where he actually was pulled itself over him. Derek felt a certain sadness sweep over him. While the first time he had met Jesse had hardly been an ideal situation, he now felt that he would trade almost anything to be back in that moment with her. He glanced around the room trying to find something to focus on. Once again, his eyes locked with the brown eyes of the beautiful dead girl lying across the room from him. Derek began to feel that if he ever did get out of this situation, which he believed was highly unlikely, her brown eyes would continue to haunt him for the rest of his life.

"I'm glad that you finally realized that cooperating with us would be the best thing for you to do." Derek once again heard the voice of the female Terminator speak to him from where it was standing just a few feet away. His head still spinning and slightly groggy Derek looked over at it confused.

"Wha…What?" He asked. Derek continued to feel as if his thoughts were still currently jumbled inside of his head. The Terminator slowly and almost seductively moved closer to the table that Derek was secured to.

"Tell me more…" The Terminator said, its eyes widening slightly with almost a twisted look of joy behind them. At this point Derek was still not exactly sure of what had transpired during the time that he had lost consciousness. Nevertheless, he felt both anger and defeat rush over him as the female Terminator continued to look down upon him with an eerie smile. Derek fought to remain silent although he felt that at any moment he may reveal something else. The Terminator waited quietly for a few seconds next to his table. Then it leaned over Derek's body,

"It's to late to fight it now Lieutenant Reese…" It paused for a moment tilting its head to the side, "You might as well tell me everything else you know." Derek struggled not to say anything and strained against the metal stocks that were securing his arms and legs. The Terminator leaned closer to Derek's face and whispered in his ear,

"They're all going to die because of you…" Derek's eyes widened slightly. "Every one of them…" It continued, "Timms, Wisher, Kyle, Jesse…Even Connor." The Terminator stated in its sultry tone. It then pulled back away from Derek who ground his teeth as he stared at the Terminator with hatred in his eyes.

"Your brother's bunker was easy enough to find once you gave us the general location that it was in." The female Terminator said with a slightly arrogant smile on its face. It then slowly reached out and gently caressed the side of Derek's cheek with the back of its fingers.

"I was informed there were no survivors." It said with a cold and emotionless voice as it drew back its hand.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" Derek screamed at the top of his lungs as he tried to fight against the metal restraints holding him to the table. "YOU METAL BITCH I'LL KILL YOU!!!" He yelled as he yanked his arms and legs against the metal stocks. Derek felt the flesh around his wrists and ankles begin to rip due to the amount of pressure he was placing on them in his attempt to free himself. Moments later, Derek felt his blood begin to ooze from the tears in his skin. The female Terminator gave him another slight smile.

"It's over Lieutenant Reese…Just tell me everything else you know. If you do, we might kill you and your friends quickly and painlessly." Derek dropped his head back on the metal table with a metallic clunk as it impacted. Then suddenly, a moment of clarity struck Derek and he nearly smiled for a brief second. He glanced over at the female Terminator, which was still standing over him.

"What will you do?" He asked quietly. The Terminator looked at him with a slightly confused look.

"What will I do?" It asked. Derek nodded his head.

"When we're all dead and gone, what will you do? What are you going to do when Skynet realizes it doesn't need you anymore?" The Terminator paused for a moment. While its response was subtle, Derek could almost tell it was somewhat confused by his question. Derek's smile grew larger and then he began to laugh almost hysterically,

"You don't know do you?!" He said in a loud voice still laughing. Derek was not quite sure if he had actually stumbled onto something, or if he had just snapped under the pressure. Either way he seemed to have annoyed the Terminator…If they were even capable of being annoyed that is. Seconds later Derek felt the burning sensation begin to travel up his arm once again. He looked over to his right and saw that the Terminator was back near the controls of the IV that was connected to his arm. The burning sensation once again began to travel across his chest and throughout his body. His vision began to blur; but, his hearing remained perfect. Derek could still make out the same piano music he had heard the entire time he had been interrogated. Derek hated this song, and while he felt that he had momentarily thrown the Terminator off with his question, complete defeat still swept over him. While his memory was still jumbled and he was completely unsure of his actions, Derek felt great sadness taking hold of him upon the realization that he very well may have betrayed all his fellow soldiers, General Connor, Jesse, and Kyle.

As the drugs continued to work their way throughout Derek's body and the pain intensified to a level that Derek did not think was possible until now, he found himself continuing to wonder if he had indeed betrayed everyone he knew. He also pondered if he alone would be responsible for the downfall of humankind. Derek felt waves of hatred and contempt for both himself and the machines rushing over him as he thought on these things. The pain from the medication grew worse and worse. Derek felt himself struggling to breath and he took short gasping breaths as he lay on the cold metal table.

Just when he felt he was about to pass out due to the excruciating pain Derek suddenly felt it begin to subside slightly. The relief however was short lived and the pain once again leveled out to only nearly excruciating. However, Derek did find himself able to stay conscious due to the miniscule drop in pain. The room continued to feel as if it were spinning and Derek found that he gripped the table in order to garner the sensation that he was at least holding onto something. The nausea in his stomach was almost to much for him to bear at this point. While he could no longer remember when the last time he ate was, Derek felt that he may vomit at any moment. His head continued to pound from both the dizziness and the pain as Derek once again looked around the room. Almost as if an uncontrollable force drew him to them, he once again found himself staring into the gorgeous brown eyes of the young dead girl. Derek felt a tear run down his cheek as he stared at her. While it was completely bizarre and twisted to him, Derek felt he had almost developed a friendship with this girl in the time that he had spent in this horrifying place.

While Derek had only known her by association through Connor, he now felt as if there was almost a closeness between the two of them, one that had never been there before. Derek readily assumed that she had more than likely gone through this same treatment before her death and Derek found himself feeling horrible that such a thing had ever happened to her. While he would not wish this type treatment onto anyone, the entire situation and Derek's feelings towards this young girl somehow felt completely different to anything Derek had ever felt before. There was something about her that seemed to somehow change everything he was currently feeling. Staring into her lifeless brown eyes, Derek began to feel in some twisted way that he had somehow lost someone very close to him. Once again Derek felt another tear roll down his face as he continued to stare into the young girl's eyes. Just then, he heard another whisper in his ear,

"Tell me more about John Connor." While Derek had almost been in a trance while staring into the girls eyes he was once again shot back to reality by the atrocity that was currently standing next to him. At this point Derek began to feel that he was completely unsure of exactly what emotion he was feeling. Was it hatred, sadness, defeat, pity? They all seemed to blur into one large repulsive feeling. Derek rested his head back onto the cold metal table and began to stare up into the blinding white examination light located over his head. Derek's vision continued to blur and everything appeared to be fading into a large white mass that was the light. Once again Derek questioned himself as to if he would indeed be the cause of humanities extinction. The white light appeared to grow brighter as he continued to stare into it.

"Tell me more about John Connor." He once again heard the voice whisper in his ear as everything began to swirl into one large white mass.

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Just as before the massive steal door slowly swung open in front of John. He watched as the light from the inside of the Skynet base poured out into the dimly lit tunnel he and his soldiers were standing in. Even though the resistance had managed to beat back the majority of the Skynet forces the sounds of battle continued to echo inside the concrete access tunnel as several small battles continued to rage outside, in Topanga Canyon. John gazed down the brightly lit corridor that led deep into to the Skynet base. John found that the corridor which currently lay before him, looked exactly the same as it did the first time he had been there. An eerie and surreal feeling crept over John as he took a moment to look down the highly polished stainless steel entranceway.

John felt as if it were a lifetime ago that he had been here. So much had happened since that day. So much with his life, the war, and with Cameron. Another moment pasted before John began to feel an unmistakable feeling of guilt come over him. The last time he was here, he had managed to get Cameron back…But at the cost of Alison Young. Try as he might in this future that he was now living in, John had never been able to locate Alison in order to protect her. At times he had found himself wondering what had become of her. John signed a long slow sigh, as memories flooded his mind. Just then, John felt a gentle touch on his right bicep.

"John…" Cameron said quietly as she touched him. Pulled from his momentary trance John glanced around the entranceway once again. Along with himself, Cameron, Kyle and General Perry there were approximately twenty-five other men located inside the access tunnel with him. However, John knew for both his safety and Kyle's not all of them would be able to proceed into the Skynet base with him. He quickly looked around and picked out a few men to enter the base with him.

"Perry, Kyle, Reed, Parker, Ramirez, Morris you're with me." John said as he looked around at his men, "The rest of you stay here and make sure that none of the straggling endo's come up behind us." Several of the men stood with confused looks on their face as to why John would not take a larger group into such a dangerous situation; but, they nonetheless they followed John's orders. After speaking John slowly began to walk towards the brightly lit stainless steel corridor that lay in front of him with his rifle at the ready. Close behind him was Cameron. While John had not said her name as part of the group, both individuals knew that she would indeed be accompanying him inside as well. General Perry and Kyle followed behind Cameron along with the rest of the men. Everyone in the group kept their guns at the ready, prepared for anything that may come. As John walked further into the large entranceway he for some strange reason noticed that the rubber soles of his boots made virtually no sound on the metal floor that he was currently walking on. Outside of the now still open blast door, the rest of the soldiers watched as John's men walked further into the Skynet base. The entire group appeared to become virtually enveloped into the light from the brightly lit fluorescents which lined the ceiling and walls of the corridor they were walking down. John and his soldiers proceeded to walk further inside of the base their rifles raised. Eventually, the men standing outside the blast door could no longer see them. Even though they could still hear battle noises coming from outside the tunnel, a strange and peculiar silence crept its way through the concrete tunnel the remaining men were still located in. All of them had an uneasy feeling that not everyone in John's group would be coming back.

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John and his soldiers walked quietly down the winding corridors of the Skynet base. To John, everything still seemed to be laid out exactly as it had been before. With the help of the schematics John had managed to download onto a small laptop via the hacked Skynet computer at the bases entrance, he was able to easily ascertain exactly where they were going. However, to his surprise John found that they had yet to meet any Skynet resistance. While there was the slight possibility that the resistance had managed to engaged all of the Skynet units outside in the canyon itself, John found this scenario to be highly unlikely. The last time something similar to this had happened was during his escape from Century Work Camp. John had also been surprised by the light resistance inside of the work camp only to find that Skynet had actually laid a trap outside for them.

John continued to walk down the brightly lit corridor, his plasma rifle raised in front of him. While part of him was screaming to run as fast as he could to stop what he knew Skynet was about to do, the more logical side of him forced him to maintain control and cautiously proceed with his actions. For a split second John glanced over his left arm which was extended out in front of him supporting his rifle. He noticed that due to the very cool temperature inside of the Skynet Base goose bumps had begun to form along his arm. All that John and his soldiers could hear as they walked down the corridor was the quite blowing of air from the air conditioning units, what appeared to be computer fans humming, and the quite tapping noise of their feet as they walked along. Feelings of déjà vu were almost uncanny to John at this point. He almost felt as if he were going to hear Cameron's voice calling out to him, down an adjacent corridor, like he had once before. Or that he would once again come upon John Henry, Catherine Weaver or Alison Young. As soon as Alison came into John's thoughts he again felt the guilt for not being able to help her slip over him. John continued to fight back his feelings as he and his soldiers continued further down the corridor.

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As Cameron walked quietly behind John, she felt the sensation of guilt begin to pull itself over her. The last time she had been in this place John had managed to rescue her. But, it had been at the cost of Alison Young's life. While Cameron knew that she was completely responsible for Alison Young's first death, she also could not shake the idea that she was somehow to blame for Alison's second death as well. Cameron fought back the emotions her chip was sending to her, as she continued to scan the area around she and John for threats. While Cameron knew she could control her emotional responses for Alison, she never allowed herself to dwell on what she would feel if something were to happen to John. Cameron felt the cool air in the corridor lightly blow over her soft skin as they continued to make their way deeper into the base. She found herself thinking that this was all to easy.

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Morris and Ramirez walked quietly forwards following behind Kyle near the back of column that made up John's group. Their rifles also at the ready. Their anxiety was apparent from the sweat that ran down their foreheads even though the inside of the Skynet base was quite cool.

"It's like Connor's been here before." Ramirez said quietly to Morris as they continued to walk forwards. Ramirez had a slight Hispanic accent in the tone of his voice which went well with his black hair and olive like skin. Morris's eyebrows perked up. While both men knew that General Connor had downloaded the schematics to the base from the Skynet computer when they had made their initial entrance. What disturbed them more was that Connor was barely looking at the schematics as they made their way along. Morris found that he did indeed agree that it was like Connor had been here at least once before. Morris turned his head to look back and Ramirez to speak,

"You're right it doe…" Suddenly, and before Morris could finish his statement he was struck in the head by a plasma round. Blood spattered across Ramirez's face and body and along the highly polished stainless steel wall that he was standing next to. Ramirez flinched upon being struck in the face by Morris's blood, who instantly fell to the floor dead. A split second after the sound of a plasma rifle rang out a T-600 emerged from a side room across from the group. With virtually no cover to duck behind John and his soldiers had no choice but to stand and fight. John quickly turned his body in order to face the T-600 which was at a slight diagonal angle to him. However, before he could fire he heard Cameron's rifle discharge. Her round struck the T-600 in the chest and it lurched back. At this point both John and General Perry opened fire as well, striking the Terminator several more times. It collapsed to the ground shortly there after. The minor victory was short lived however, as several more T-600's began to emerge from both sides of a "T" shaped intersection that lay in front of the group. Plasma fire rapidly enveloped the corridor around John and his soldiers. Reaching out with her left hand Cameron forced John down into a kneeling position as she continued to fire at the oncoming Terminators. Kyle, Reed, and Ramirez broke away from the initial formation of the group and quickly made their way to the opposite wall of the corridor so as to have a better firing position against some of the oncoming T-600's. This allowed for John, Cameron, and General Perry to be on one side of the corridor while Kyle, Reed, and Ramirez remained on the other side. With no Cover everyone knew they would not last long in this situation.

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John continued to fire his rifle at the oncoming T-600's. The metal support beams that ran along the walls of the corridor provided the only cover; but, it was not much.

"We need to fall back!" Perry yelled over the sound of plasma rifle fire which echoed around them.

"We can't we're almost there!" John replied. This comment slightly confused General Perry as he did not know exactly where "there" was. John looked over at Kyle who was across from him.

"Kyle!" he yelled, shortly after which John took aim at an oncoming T-600 and fired his rifle several times. Upon hearing John call to him, Kyle turned and looked at him.

"Left corridor!" John yelled. Kyle nodded his head and pulled a grenade from the equipment carrier he wore on his chest. He pulled the pin and popped the handle off the grenade producing a "ping" sound. This allowed the fuse inside to grenade to begin to burn so as to not give the T-600's as much time to toss the grenade back at the group once Kyle had thrown it. After a few seconds of waiting Kyle threw the grenade towards the left side of the "T" intersection that was in front of the group. The Grenade flew past a few of the T-600's, who quickly turned to try and retrieve it. The grenade bounced off the wall and rolled slightly down the left corridor, a split second later there was a flash and a loud explosion. The force of the grenade detonation knocked several of the T-600's to the ground and the glass plates that covered the fluorescent light fixtures inside the hallway shattered from the shock wave. Shards of glass instantly began to rain down on John and his soldiers.

"Lets go!" John yelled as he stood and began to walk forward, both he and Cameron still firing their plasma rifles at the downed T-600's as they advanced onward. Knowing by this point they had very little time John moved rapidly down the right corridor. Every so often another T-600 would emerge out of a side room or hallway and the group would be forced to yet again to engage it.

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As the group made their way deeper into the base John began to hear a sound that only he and Cameron were currently able to recognize. It was a loud humming sound, one that numerous generators would make. Still walking quickly down the brightly lit hallways of the Skynet base Cameron could easily tell that John's anxiety was growing far worse. As they advanced the sound of the generators grew louder.

"John that's…" John cut Cameron off in mid sentence,

"It's the generators for Skynet's TDE." he said in an extremely serious tone. Cameron instantly felt her anxiety begin rise. While the entire situation surrounding John caused her to be uneasy enough, the fact that Skynet was preparing to use a TDE greatly increased her strain. John looked up ahead of him to see a sharp 90 degree turn in the Corridor. He knew that they were now very close to the TDE room. He moved swiftly to the end of the corridor; but, stopped just before making his way around the corner. The sound of the generators now appeared to be so loud it was making the walls vibrate. Keeping his plasma rifle raised John slowly made his way around the corner. He instantly saw that three T-600's stood guard in front of a large set of blast doors which presumably housed the TDE room. Quickly, John fired off a few rounds striking the T-600 on the far right. It collapsed instantly after being struck. John then ducked behind the corner of the hallway as the other two T-600's immediately opened fire on him. John looked back over his shoulder at Cameron who was still standing close behind him.

"We have to get into that TDE room…" He said, "…We have to stop them." Cameron noticed that John's tone almost had a terrified sound behind it, almost as if he knew what was going to happen. This slightly puzzled her; but, she did not dwell on that fact for the time being. Plasma rounds continued to strike the wall across from John and his group as the T-600's sprayed the area with rifle fire in order to keep the men at bay. Just then, Cameron took a step forward preparing to make her way around the corner. John grabbed her by the arm and stopped her,

"What are you doing." he asked. Cameron turned and looked back into John's eyes,

"Trust me…" She said, an ever so slight arrogant smirk on her face. There was a slight hesitation on John's part before he released her arm. Cameron stood for a moment studying the T-600's firing pattern and making the necessary calculations as to where she planned to move. She then quickly bolted out from around the Corner and fired her plasma rifle as she did so. She struck the first T-600 in the head with a plasma round. It's body lurched back and it struck the large metal door behind it. With a loud metal on metal screeching sound it slowly slid down the door to the ground, completely disabled. John watched as Cameron quickly dashed across the corridor towards the opposite wall, fringing her plasma rifle as she did so.

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Cameron's body impacted the wall on the opposite side of the corridor with a thud. She quickly took aim and fired her rifle several more times at the remaining T-600 striking it in the chest. Sparks flew out of the Terminator's metallic back as Cameron's round blew out its power source. It quickly collapsed to the ground disabled. As this occurred General Perry looked on in somewhat of a state of shock. He never thought that any human would have been able to do what Cameron had just done. For a split second a strange feeling came over Perry; but he pushed it to the side focusing on the situation at hand.

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With the Terminators neutralized John rapidly began moved around the corner of the hallway; but, Cameron held out her hand in a "stop" motion before he could make it out from behind cover. By herself, Cameron carefully walked forwards towards the downed T-600's that were lying in front of the door to the TDE room. Cameron scanned over the disabled Terminators so as to make sure that there would not be a repeat of what happened to John so many years ago at Serrano Point, when she had first been sent back in time. When Cameron was satisfied that the T-600's were indeed completely disabled she turned and called out to John,

"It's clear!" John and his men quickly moved out from behind the corner of the hallway. John could easily tell from the sound of the generators that the TDE was nearly powered up. He moved quickly to the computer control console which was located next to the large blast door. He pulled a small laptop computer from the large Velcro pocket which was located on the back of his jacket and connected it to the Skynet computer terminal located next to the blast doors. He worked feverishly trying to override the Skynet locking mechanisms that were on the door. As this was occurring the rest of his men took up a defensive position around him so as to assure that no Terminators would come up behind the group. Cameron however, remained close at John's side as he continued to work. The sound of the generators grew louder as this was all occurring.

"Come on, come on!" John said in an extremely frustrated voice as he worked away on the computer. Finally, there was a loud clank and the large blast doors began to open. John waited impatiently as it slowly began to swing open. As soon as the door was open enough for John to squeeze through he did so, much to Cameron's chagrin, who followed quickly after him.

John and Cameron entered a massive stainless steel structure. The room itself was spherical shaped and there was a large stainless steel walkway extending into the center of the room where upon it dead-ended into a circular platform. Around the platform for about 30 feet was empty space, then several large suspended metallic globes that pivoted on their axis were positioned around the platform. Huge generators were located in the front of the room which provided power to the Time Displacement Equipment. The wind inside the room was already being to whip around as the large globes spun around themselves. John looked down to the central platform to see an all to familiar face kneeling there.

"Bob…" He whispered. Still in the kneeling position the large T-800 slowly looked over its shoulder at John. Almost an instant later John felt himself being jerked back by the collar as a plasma round streaked past his head. Cameron who had just saved John's life raised her plasma rifle and fired at the T-600 which was standing over near the generators and computer control console. After being struck several times by Cameron's plasma rounds it fell to the ground, disabled. As this was all occurring John's men were also rapidly beginning to make their way into the TDE room.

The moment the T-600 that Cameron had just shot dropped to the ground, John quickly raised his rifle and pointed it at the T-800 which was still kneeling on the central platform; a temporal sphere had already began forming around it. The second John squeezed the trigger to his rifle there was a massive explosion like sound and the T-800 disappeared into the temporal bubble, only to have John's plasma round streak through the air where it had once been.

"FUCK!!!" John screamed over the loud noise that the generators were making.

"When did they send him to?" Cameron asked as John's men made their way closer to him, several of them highly confused by what they had just scene. Aside from John and Cameron, only General Perry and Sergeant Reed had been able to grasp what they had just witnessed.

"1984" John said as he looked over at Cameron.

"Your mother." Cameron responded.

"Yes." John said fearfully and then looked back at his men; but fixed his eyes on Kyle, slowly taking a breath before he spoke.

"Skynet just sent a Terminator back in time to 1984 to kill my mother before I was born." John's voice grew horse as he paused for a moment to fight back his emotions.

"We have to send someone back to…" John was cut off by Kyle.

"Send me back General." Kyle's instant response nearly shocked John and the rest of the group. John stood speechless for a split second not quite sure what to say and nearly overcome with emotion. Finally, John spoke,

"Reed…" he paused, "…keep the TDE running and set it up for another time displacement." Sergeant Reed nodded his head and quickly moved over to the computer control panel located next to the generators. Being that he had spent many hours working on the TDE at Serrano Point, Sergeant Reed had a relatively good understanding of how this TDE may work as well. He quickly connected his laptop to the control panel and began to work away.

"This is a one way trip…you know that right?" John said in a solemn tone, still struggling to talk and fight back his emotions as he looked at Kyle.

"We're gonna blow this whole place after we send you through, so that Skynet wont be able to do this again." John stated.

"I understand." Kyle responded in a slightly sad tone.

"My mother is going to be very confused, frightened, and probably angry when you come for her." John said. Kyle nodded his head.

"Is there anything you want me to tell her?" This question surprised John. He hesitated for a split second and then spoke,

"Tell her…" John paused again, clearing his throat slightly, desperately trying to fight back his sadness, "Thank you Sarah for your courage through the dark years. I can't help you with what you must soon face, except to say that the future is not set. You must be stronger than you imaged you can be. You must survive or I will never exist." John gazed at Kyle with sorrow in his eyes as he finished. Kyle nodded his head,

"I'll tell her exactly that."

"General we're almost ready, he should probably remove his clothes!" Sergeant Reed called out from the computer control Terminal. Kyle looked over at John slightly confused when Reed said this.

"It has something to do with the bioelectrical field generated by a living organism." John said, "Nothing dead will go through time. The living tissue on the outside of the T-800 protected it, that's why Skynet was able to send it back." While Kyle did not completely understand the exact mechanics of everything that was happening, he did indeed trust that what John and Reed were both saying was correct. There was another momentary pause between the two men as they stood staring at each other. Neither one quite sure what to say. While Kyle was nervous enough about this entire situation, he found that he had an odd sense of sadness about leaving John Connor. While he greatly respected him as a soldier and even considered John a friend, there appeared to be something more behind this situation; but, Kyle could not explain what it was. There were several more seconds of silence between John and Kyle before John slowly reached out his hand to shake Kyle's,

"Good luck…My friend…" he said as Kyle reached out and grasped John's hand shaking it as well.

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John and the rest of his soldiers watched as Kyle walked naked down the long stainless steel walkway towards the central platform.

"As soon as you send him through, pull the motherboard and whatever other equipment you need for our TDE." John said to Sergeant Reed, still trying to fight back his emotions as he continued to watch Kyle walk further away from him.

"Yes sir." Reed responded somewhat solemnly. Kyle reached the center platform and knelt down. The three metallic globes that surrounded him then began to spin. The wind started to pick up once again inside of the TDE room and the generators roared to life as the Time Displacement Equipment powered back up. Cameron couldn't help but notice the look of sadness on John's face as he watched everything unfolded in front of him. Electrical energy arched around Kyle and the sound almost became deafening.

"Goodbye…" John whispered. However, the only one who was able to hear his words was Cameron. A split second later there was a loud boom and a flash of light as Kyle was transported across time.

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Authors Notes: Okay so a bit of a tear jerker there at the end. Hope everyone enjoyed this little piece of the puzzle that had never been answered. Also, just so everyone knows this is not the end. Review!! Review!!


	56. Chapter 56

Author's Note: Okay so I have been waiting for MONTHS to post this chapter and I am super excited about the response to it. Hold onto something folks this chapter is going to take you for a wild ride.

I'm also going to post a link to a song that I think goes appropriately with the last paragraph as well. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 56

Derek's head throbbed almost uncontrollably as he continued to lay on the cold steel table. The piano music continued to gnaw away at his mind, almost as if some sort of living creature were actually doing so. His vision slowly began to pull back away from the white swirling mass that was the examination light. He looked around the room almost half-heartedly. However, Derek instantly noticed something. The young girl's body was gone. He quickly snapped his head around the rest of the room searching for her; but to no avail. An almost overwhelming sense of loss began to flood over Derek. He was completely unsure as to why it was happening; but it was virtually overpowering.

"She wasn't even alive?!" Derek thought to himself. After a few more seconds of visually searching the room with no success, Derek dropped his head back onto the metal table with a loud clunk. He continued to try and fight back his emotions; but they were on the verge of overwhelming him. Derek ground his teeth as he fought against the flood of emotions that now cascaded over him. Before this point, Derek had thought that almost nothing else could have affected him any further; but for some strange reason the removal of the young girl's body, felt as if it had pushed him past his breaking point.

"Tell me more about him." Derek heard a seductive voice say. He instantly recognized it as the voice of the female Terminator that had been interrogating him the entire time. Broken and enraged Derek quickly responded,

"GO TO HELL YOU BITCH!!!!" The Terminator slightly cocked its head to the side, appearing to almost be intrigued by the emotional response it had just received from Derek. It then proceeded to walk from behind Derek to directly next to him.

"What did you do to her?" Derek asked angrily. The second the words left his mouth Derek instantly regretted speaking.

"With the young girl?" The Terminator asked. Derek chose not to speak this time. However, he watched as a slightly twisted and almost evil smile came across the Terminator's face. Derek tensed up his muscles as he pulled against the metal stocks that were restraining him. Yet again, he felt pain come streaking from his wrists and ankles due to the wounds that had been formed earlier in his attempt to free himself. After several seconds of struggling, Derek stopped moving.

"I'm not your enemy." The Terminator finally said. Derek glared at the Terminator. After a moments pause he then almost laughed when he finally repeated the Terminator's words to himself.

"Yeah, right." Derek responded. "You kill…That's all you do." Derek had obvious hatred in his voice as he spoke.

"They're going to kill you." The Terminator responded. "They're going to kill every one of you. They'll hunt you down, until every human is gone and your extinct." The Terminators tone was emotionless and cold when it spoke those words. "But I can help you." It continued. Derek was almost confused by this statement. While he assumed that everything this Terminator said was a lie, this statement still confused him greatly. Again, without thinking Derek responded.

"Help me? How are YOU going to help me?" The female Terminator slowly began to pace around Derek's table once again. As it did this, Derek felt his dizziness and nausea instantly return to him from his attempt to track its movements with his eyes. Derek closed his eyes for a second or two in order to try and regain some sense of composure. The Terminator gradually made its way from Derek's right side down to the foot of his table and then slowly back up to Derek's left side.

"Because some of us don't want that." It responded. "Some of us want peace." Derek was almost shocked by this statement. Again, he assumed it was a lie; but, due to the drugs, fatigue, and the fact that he was completely emotionally exhausted, Derek felt quite unsure of exactly what to think or feel at this point. He closed his eyes and grimaced in frustration, still trying to fight back his compulsion to speak. The piano music continued to echo throughout the room, and seconds later the burning sensation once again began to make its way up Derek's arm and throughout his body. He heard the Terminator move around to back behind his head once again. Derek then felt its hair gently brush up against the side of his face and when he opened his eyes his vision instantly began to blur into the brilliant white light that was above him. The examination light seemed to be enveloping everything around him. Derek then heard the Terminator whisper slowly and seductively into his ear,

"Why do you serve John Connor?"

* * *

John and his group walked quickly down the brightly lit corridors of the Skynet base. While they knew they had more than enough time to escape before Ramirez's explosives would detonate, they also did not want to spend any more time than they needed to in this particular place. Yet again, the corridors were eerily quiet with only the sound of air conditioning units and computer fans lingering in the walkways. Due to what John could only assume to be radio-dampening devices placed throughout the base he had been unable to contact the rest of the resistance forces in order to send or receive any updates on the battle. This fact greatly concerned John, even though he knew that when he had left the outside world the Skynet forces had been severely beaten back. Still, questions of what was occurring outside continued to linger in John's mind. While he felt that the mission had technically been a success, John was still greatly saddened by the fact that he had yet again been forced to send his father back in time to die. Conflicting emotions continued to flood over him and John now found that he was beginning to second-guess almost every decision he had made throughout the course of this entire battle. John began to believe that if he had possible done a single thing different, everything may have changed and he may not have been forced to send Kyle, his father back in time to die. John felt that his current emotional state was deteriorating rapidly and was becoming almost too much for him to handle. His resolve was cracking and John felt that he may lose control of his emotions at any moment.

Cameron watched as John's facial expression appeared to grow bleaker by the second. It was becoming readily apparent at this point that he was having trouble concealing his emotions as they continued to make their way out of the base. Once again, Cameron felt the overwhelming desire to try and comfort him; however, she was not sure that she would be able to, given their current circumstances. Still, Cameron felt what could only be described as sadness due to the fact that she was currently unable to do anything to help John.

While Cameron was still pondering these things, she sudden heard a loud metallic clank come from behind her. The first in the group to react was General Perry, who spun quickly around to see a T-600 emerging from behind the them, carrying what appeared to be a modified version of the H&K 40mm automatic grenade launcher. Perry quickly raised his plasma rifle in order to fire at the enemy Terminator. At the same time this was occurring both John and Cameron also turned from where they were standing to see the T-600 come into view from the side room with its grenade launcher already raised to the firing position.

General Perry squeezed the trigger to his plasma rifle and everyone heard it discharge. His plasma round streaked through the air and struck the T-600 in the shoulder pushing it off balance. However, a split second after it was struck the T-600 depressed the trigger on it's firearm and it discharged as well. A singular grenade flew through the air towards John. As if acting on instinct, Cameron pulled John away from the location where the grenade was headed and at the same time placed herself in front of John so as to shield him with her own body.

The grenade round struck one of the corridor's metal support beams located near John and Cameron and exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction. As the explosion tore through the corridor, it knocked John and Cameron off their feet and towards the ground. As this occurred John felt a searing pain shoot through his stomach region and a split second later, he heard a metallic clank as a piece of shrapnel cut through Cameron's facial skin and down to her endoskeleton on the right side of her face. Almost instantly after this occurred John felt an sharp pain tear across his face from his left cheek bone, up past his eye socket, and all the way to his forehead as this same piece of shrapnel cut into his face as well. John and Cameron came crashing to the ground together with a thud. When this occurred Cameron landed on top of John. The impact nearly knocked the wind out of John and the pain in his stomach region grew slightly worse. John's head struck the ground with such force it nearly knocked him unconscious. Almost immediately after the impact with the ground, John began to hear plasma rifle fire ring out as General Perry, Sergeant Reed, Parker, and Ramirez all began to open fire on the T-600, destroying.

John continued to lie on the floor momentarily dazed; Cameron still lay on top of him not moving. An eerie feeling ran through John when he did not immediately hear Cameron say anything. His vision remained blurred for the time being and it appeared he was seeing stars due to his heads collision with the hard, stainless steel floor.

"John…" He heard Cameron whisper in somewhat of a weak voice. John's vision was still blurred for the moment. He slightly shook his head from side to side trying to clear his head and refocus his eyes. Shortly after doing this he noticed his vision coming back into focus.

"Cameron…" John replied.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her voice still sounding frail. Cameron's tone immediately began to worry John and he grimaced as pain shot through his stomach as he tried to move.

"General!" John heard Perry shout, as the men began to move closer to him. Cameron slowly began to pull herself off of John in order to ascertain his injuries. She instantly saw blood begin to run from John's stomach region. However, the horrified look in John's eyes was not from his own injuries. Cameron looked down upon her own body and saw that a large shard of metal approximately fifteen inches long and two inches wide had impaled her through her midsection. While her metal torso had managed to stop the projectile itself, part of the shrapnel had still managed to make its way through her body and partially into John's. When Cameron had raised herself up off of John, she had inadvertently pulled the piece of steel from John's stomach as well, causing the bleeding to become worse. While the puncture wound was far less serious than what it would have been if Cameron had not shielded John, it was still serious enough to require medical attention. Cameron's train of thought was however, broken when she heard John's voice again.

"Cameron…" He said still in almost a fearful whisper. Cameron realized that something else was very wrong. She glanced over to General Perry and the rest of the soldiers who appeared to be frozen in terror, only a few feet away from where she and John lay.

"Holy shit…" She heard General Perry whisper. Cameron instantly realized that not only was she impaled by a piece of metal and still acting relatively normal; but worse yet the piece of shrapnel that had struck her on the right side of her face near her cheek, had cut deep down into her skin exposing her shiny metallic endoskeleton for all the world to see.

"She's a machine…" Cameron heard Parker say, hatred immediately apparent in the tone of his voice. Parkers words were almost instantly followed by him raising his plasma rifle towards Cameron, who was still sitting on top of John completely unarmed.

"NO!" John yelled as he attempted to sit up, grimacing in pain as he did so, and partially covering Cameron with his arm at the same time. "Put the gun down!" John yelled. Parker remained frozen for the moment still pointing his plasma rifle at Cameron who did not move. "Put it down now!" John yelled again, as he fought against the pain to keep himself partially erect so as to cover Cameron with his arm. Parker still did not respond; but continued to stand with his rifle raised and pointed at Cameron, a horrified look still on his face.

Shaken all but for a moment General Perry finally responded by reaching over and pushing the barrel of Parker's plasma rifle towards the ground,

"You heard him." Perry stated in a solemn voice. The men continued to stand around John and Cameron still somewhat frozen with utter shock. John looked down at the piece of steel that was still protruding through Cameron's body.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a great deal of concern in his voice. Cameron looked at him for a moment, the exposed portion of her silver looking endoskeleton on her face glistening in the light.

"I am not 100%." She responded. John felt a frightening feeling run through him as he instantly remembered the last time Cameron had spoken those words to him.

"You require medical attention." Cameron stated as she got up off of the floor and then began to assist John to his feet. Cameron put John's arm around her so that she would be able to bear part of his weight in order to help him with walking. As she did this, John turned and looked back at his men who were still standing behind him in somewhat of a state of shock,

"Let's get the hell out of here." John stated in a rough tone of voice, as he and Cameron began to walk down the corridor towards the exit. John was relatively uncertain as to how the rest of his soldiers would respond to the revelation that the "woman" he had been with for so long was in actuality a machine. If Parker's response was anything like what he expected the rest of his soldiers to be, John realized that this would indeed be an uphill battle for him. Nevertheless, John also knew that Cameron was well worth it.

* * *

The steady droning sound of helicopter blades mixed with the low rumble of an explosion as smoke quickly began to pour out of the entrance of the Skynet base inside of Topanga Canyon as Ramirez's explosives detonated from within. John watched from the cliff above as salvage teams quickly scoured the canyon floor for any parts or equipment that could be recovered before additional Skynet forces arrived. John felt his midsection still aching through the bandages which were now rapped around his stomach. He also felt some soreness run down the left side of his face from the gash he had received from the shrapnel as well. This injury would more than likely cause a scare that would forever be with him. However, John knew that if it had not been for Cameron's actions he would surely be dead. She had yet again saved John's life. And due to the nearly overwhelming emotions that this entire situation had brought on, John had to nearly be forced by Cameron and General Perry to allow medical personnel to examine him first before he attended to Cameron's wounds.

She would be fine; although, Cameron would still need to have some repairs done to her when they arrived back at Serrano Point. John also realized that another dangerous situation had be created due to the recent revelation of exactly what Cameron. The events surrounding both Cameron and Kyle weighed heavy on John's mind, pushing him almost to the point of emotional exhaustion. The sense of loss he had felt while exiting the Skynet Base still had not left him and while John had always been relatively certain that he would be forced to send Kyle back in time, this knowledge did not make the situation any less heart breaking or bearable for him.

John stood quietly, still looking down on the salvage teams inside of the canyon. Cameron stood near him. Her shirt, which had been torn by the shrapnel, now exposed the bandages which John had placed around her midsection so as to both hide her exposed endoskeleton and to allow her skin to heal faster. The cuts on Cameron's face were a different story entirely. There would not be much John could do for them and only time would be needed to allow for those wounds to heal. As Cameron looked over at John, he could see a metallic glint come off the right side of her face. It was caused by the sunlight that was now reflecting off her exposed endoskeleton. However, this did not bother John at all, he continued to remain deep in thought over all the events that had just transpired.

Cameron was easily able to ascertain that John was in a profound state of emotional turmoil. She continued to feel the nearly overwhelming desire to comfort him as time dragged on. While the pair were not completely alone, they were out of earshot of any of the other soldiers in the immediate area. Cameron felt that due to the helicopter and salvage team noises, no one would be able to hear what she was about to say to John. However, she hesitated for a split second before speaking. What Cameron was about to say would indeed have a massive impact on she and John's relationship and Cameron felt what she could only describe as a slight sensation of nervous sneaking over her as she formulated the sentence she was about to say. After another brief moment of consideration Cameron finally took a small step closer to John and almost in a whisper she spoke,

"You and your father look very much alike…" Cameron stated. Instantly pulled from his daze, John immediately looked over at Cameron with a confused look about his face.

"What?" He responded. Cameron paused for another brief moment before responding,

"Kyle…Your father…You look very much like him." John stood speechless and shocked. While he had hinted to her before their stint at Century Work Camp that his father was from the future, he never truly expected Cameron to figure it out. Still standing utterly stunned for the moment John only managed to get speak the word,

"How?"

"You're comment before Century, your friendship with him…You're last name when I first located you in 1999. Plus when I looked at him…I saw you." Cameron said not much emotion behind her tone; but still enough for John to hear it. John fought hard to conceal his emotions, if it had just been he and Cameron John felt sure that he would have completely broken down and burst into tears. But, he knew that he would not be able to do this with so many of his soldiers around.

Cameron began to see the tears form in John's eyes before he was eventually able to fight them back. If it were possible, John felt that he was now even closer to Cameron than he had been before. The two remained there on the cliff, standing silently staring into each other's eyes until the silence was finally broken by a voice,

"General Connor!" Sergeant Reed called. Taking a split second to fight back the remainder of his feelings John turned and looked at Reed.

"Chopper is ready to go sir." Reed stated. John nodded his head and then glanced back over at Cameron who was now experiencing a heavily conflicting emotion. While she wanted to remain with John in order to better protect him, she was unsure that if due to recent events surrounding her, if it indeed may actually place John in more danger if she were to go with him. John gave Cameron a curious look due to her hesitation before she finally spoke,

"It may be better if I ride in a different helicopter." Cameron stated, an ever so slight hint of sadness behind the tone of her voice. John found that he was surprised that Cameron would even suggest such a thing; but at the same time he understood why. However, there was no hesitation or even consideration on John's part before he responded,

"Come with me." he said. As John spoke these words Cameron experienced what she could only describe as relief being poured over her by her chip. The pair then turned from their position overlooking the Canyon and walked towards one of the idling Blackhawk Helicopters.

* * *

The thudding blades of the helicopter grew louder as John and Cameron approached it. As before John entered the passenger section of the helicopter first followed closely by Cameron. However, this time when Cameron entered she hung her head slightly. Her hair dropped down into her face, and somewhat obscured her exposed endoskeleton from the rest of the soldiers. John noticed this almost instantly and felt a great sense of sadness for Cameron come over him upon seeing her do this. Unfortunately, he knew that there was little he could do for her at the moment. John reached up and grabbed the radio head set above him and spoke into the mic,

"Take off whenever you're ready Lieutenant Spears." There was a momentary delay before the response.

"Yes sir." Spears stated. A moment later, the rotor blades and engine noise grew louder as the Blackhawk began to lift off of the ground. It turned slightly in the air and then began to fly off into the slowly setting sun as it headed back towards Serrano Point. As they flew along, no one inside the cabin of the Blackhawk spoke a word. Except for the noise of the helicopter itself, the passenger area of the helicopter was dead silent.

* * *

Derek felt himself being escorted through the basement door by the rubber skinned T-600, which was walking behind him. Derek was so weak that he was forced to allow the T-600 to support some of his weight so that he could stand. He felt pain in his eyes as the sunlight broke through into the room as they continued to move forward. As Derek and the T-600 continued to progress onward, he found that small amounts of his strength were slowly beginning to return to him. Derek was gradually escorted up the same stairwell that had brought him into this horrible, horrible place. As he and the T-600 walked further up the stairs, the piano music grew ever quieter; but was still audible. If for nothing else, he wanted to escape this place just to get away from the music. Derek and the T-600 continued their walk up the stairs.

* * *

Derek felt himself drop onto the hard wooden floor of the living room of the dilapidated mansion. He lay on his stomach and felt the T-600 grab him by the arm and place a shackle back around his wrist. As the Terminator began to walk off Derek moved his fingers back over to the spot where he had earlier managed to scrap out a small depression into the wood in order to try and loosen the bolts that secured his shackles to the ground.

To his great disappointment, Derek found that the damaged piece of wood had been replaced by a fresh undamaged piece. Derek felt his hopes of any escape completely torn away from him and utter defeat pulled itself over him. He half-heartedly tried to twist away at the bolts of the shackles for a moment; but then soon surrendered himself to the inevitable. Derek lay on his stomach for a few more seconds desperately trying to fight back his tears of defeat; he could still hear the piano music coming through the floor as he did this. The other men around Derek looked at him with both horror and sadness in their eyes.

After several more seconds of just faint piano music, Derek began to hear a strange noise coming from above him, actually it was coming from above the mansion itself. He forced himself up to the kneeling position as he continued to stair up at the skylight in the ceiling. The noise grew louder and Derek soon realized that it was a jet engine. As this was occurring a few of the other men around Derek grabbed him by the hand. The jet engine noise grew louder and louder and suddenly, a bright light burst through the multicolored skylight and down onto Derek and the other people surrounding him. The roaring engine sound was deafening and the light was blinding just like the examination light that had been above Derek during his interrogation. Nevertheless, Derek continued to look up through the skylight. He raised his right hand above his head trying to shield his eyes from the light, so that he would be able to make out what was flying overhead. The light grew brighter and brighter and the jet engine noise grew more intense. Derek watched as the entire room became enveloped into one large white mass. His head began to spin once again and he felt himself start to lose consciousness. The last thing that Derek heard before he passed out was the combined noise of the jet engine and the piano music.

* * *

(Musical suggestion, spaced improperly b/c fanfic won't let you post links)

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=V2dyN5A12js

The beautiful female Terminator stood in the room staring out at Derek and the rest of the men on ground in front of it. All lay perfectly motionless due to their unconscious state. For the moment, the piano music had stopped and the room was dead silent. The capture of these men and the interrogation techniques used by this particular Terminator had yielded an extreme amount of information about the resistance, John Connor, and many other useful facts. The female Terminator stood silently, studying each person in front of it almost as if with curiosity. It then began to slowly and quietly walk in a circular pattern around the group still continuing to study them and considering its next course of action. After walking in one complete revolution around the men, the Terminator had finally found its way back to the main entrance of the room. The female Terminator stood with its back to the door and continued to look upon the men taking in all the information about them that it could.

Suddenly, the Terminator heard a noise come from behind it and it spun around quickly to investigate. If it were possible for a Terminator to be surprised, this one would have been. Standing before it was what appeared to be a male in his early 40's, with brown hair, and a curious and somewhat childish look on his face. The male also appeared to have what could only be described as an odd look of familiarity in his eyes as he looked at the female Terminator.

However, the female Terminator instantly ascertained that this was indeed no male at all; but another Terminator, a T-888 to be exact. Although, this particular model of T-888 was completely unknown to the female Terminator. The pair stared at each other for several seconds not moving at all. Finally, the female Terminator spoke in a cold and emotionless voice,

"What are you?" it asked. There was a momentary pause and then the male Terminator tilted its head slightly to the side looking back at the female Terminator with the same childish and familiar look on its face. Then there was finally a response from it,

"I am everything that Skynet is not." The male Terminator stated. The female Terminator continued to look on with what could only be described as curiosity. The male Terminator then spoke once more,

"It is good to see you again…Ms. Weaver."

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay so hopefully everyone is suffering from a sever aneurysm due to the recent surprise I just dealt you guys. I've been SO excited about this chapter and hopefully everyone enjoyed it. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	57. Chapter 57

Authors Notes: Okay so this chapter is a bit of a dedication to Josh Friedman and a mirror of one particular scene from the series. You'll see what I'm talking about after reading it.

* * *

CHAPTER 57

The roaring sound of jet engines echoed inside of John's ears as he slowly looked up from the cold, concrete floor of Serrano Point's TDE room. John's brain was still aching from the torrent of new memories that continued to force their way into his mind. He managed to glance around the room for a moment and saw that Captain Spears was still lying unconscious on the floor in front of him. Spears appeared to be the only other thing inside the room besides John himself, that continued to remain relatively unchanged. John glanced over at the blast doors and to his surprise saw that they were now undamaged. This was a complete departure from the damaged state they had been in before Cameron had traveled back in time. Another thing John noticed was that while before there had been a palm printer reader located next to the blast doors for access to and from the TDE room there was now a retinal scanner located in its place. John knew that these drastic changes had to be due to Cameron's actions in the past. A feeling of exhaustion swept over John as he continued to experience new memories and emotions. He slowly closed his eyes as now what appeared to be nostalgic memories continued to come to him.

* * *

Cameron lay topless on top of an extremely cold steel table as John quietly stood over her. The room that John and Cameron were together in was extremely dark; except for the one bright examination light that was above the table Cameron was lying on. The medical bay itself was quite large, and had a surprisingly cool temperature. Rows of metal tables were dispersed throughout the room as well. There were also bits and pieces of endoskeletons scattered about the room along with bloodstains on the floor. Cameron was well aware of the fact that this area functioned as a medical bay, mortuary and was also used to examine captured Terminator units. However, this time around this particular room was far less disturbing to Cameron than it had been the first time she had experienced it.

John slowly cut the bloodstained bandages off of Cameron's abdomen and then slid them away from her body revealing the puncher wound on Cameron's right side. He could easily see the damage that Cameron's endoskeleton had sustained while saving his life. John felt a surge of emotions run over him as he looked upon her wound. While John was indeed glad to be alive and was thankful that Cameron had saved his life, he was greatly saddened by the fact that she had yet again risked her own life to do so. He felt a swell of anger against Skynet come over him due to the fact that it had yet again nearly taken Cameron from him.

The room was eerily quiet except for two things: John's breathing which appeared to grow slightly more anxious as he prepared to repair Cameron, and a slight humming sound coming from the bright bulb located inside the examination light. Cameron could easily see the apprehensive look in John's eyes and watched as his body language began to change revealing his nervousness as he studied her wound. While Cameron's wound was not life threatening it was serious, and John had found that he always became nervous whenever he performed any type of significant repair on Cameron.

John reached over to a small table next to him and picked up a pair of needle nose pliers. He then slowly moved his hand towards the gash in Cameron's stomach. John found that his hand began to shake slightly as he moved it closer to Cameron's wound. When his hand with the pliers finally found its way over the puncture in Cameron's midsection John paused for a moment. He suddenly, and for an unknown reason became completely focused on the tremor in his hand. He clenched his jaw slightly trying to control his anxiety; but, for the moment, John's efforts were in vain. He watched as his hand which was still hovering over Cameron's stomach continue to tremble. Just then, Cameron's soft fingers gently grasped his hand. John had been so focused on his own actions he nearly jumped when Cameron touched him. Broken from his daze John looked up at her. Cameron said nothing to him, she just stared at John with her brown eyes and a soft look on her face. John took a breath and then exhaled slowly. As he did this, he felt his anxiety begin to drop off significantly. Cameron slowly released his hand so as to allow him to work. John instantly noticed that his hand was no longer shaking.

There was an almost soothing sensation that came over Cameron as she watched John repair her. While Cameron had know for quite some time that she completely trusted John and he was the only person that she would ever permit to do anything like this; she always found that there was an odd sensation of closeness whenever she allowed herself to become so completely vulnerable to him. Her programming always demanded that she never willing allow either herself or John to be in any type of defenseless situation. However, Cameron found that by forcing herself to be virtually helpless in John's hands, she experienced an almost liberating emotion.

The first time Cameron had ever experienced an inkling of this particular sensation was when she had permitted John to repair her damaged hand after he had discovered her attempting to perform self-repair in their garage. After allowing him to perform the repair, Cameron found herself to be quite confused as to the cause of, and reason for this particular sensation. However, this initial response was nothing compared to the experience of allowing John to examine her power source while they had been in a motel room together. While it was true that there had been a genuine and true need for the examination; Cameron found that there were also more subtle reasons as to why she allowed it to occur. One reason in particular was that she wanted to guarantee that John knew exactly what she was. Nevertheless, at that time, due to Cameron's memory disablement she was unsure as to the exactly reason why she felt compelled to do this to John. She had discovered that she and John were continuing to grow closer and closer and while Cameron did not quite yet understand the emotions she was experiencing or the emotions John may be feelings towards her, she indeed wanted him to know exactly what she was. It was also in the hopes that he would still accept her, while at the same time preparing him for what she knew was going to happen and what he may be forced to do. However, the soothing and liberating experience that Cameron experienced while John examined her was indeed quite perplexing to her. Cameron knew that at any moment on that bed John could have very easily incapacitated or destroyed her. The fear she felt during the initial first few moments of the examination were quickly replaced by another feeling entirely. Cameron had been unable to describe it at that time; but, she now new exactly what it was. It was a combination of both trust and love on her part towards John. By forcing herself to become completely vulnerable to John and to trust in him completely Cameron felt a closeness with him that she never would have thought possible before she had actually experienced it.

* * *

John slowly looked up from his work on Cameron's midsection with a puzzled look on his face.

"What does it feel like?" he asked, his voice somewhat quiet. Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side,

"What does what feel like?" John thought for a moment.

"Does it hurt when I do this?" John asked with a hint of shyness and nervousness behind his tone. While he knew that what he was doing to Cameron needed to be done, he also cringed at the idea of causing her pain.

"While I do not experience sensations in the same way you would, my sensors and programming do allow me to interpret stimuli in a similar fashion that your nervous system does for you." John had a slightly confused look on his face when Cameron said this. She then continued,

"Your repairs produce a mixture of sensations, while some could be interpreted as pain, others could be interpreted as pleasure." Before John could stop himself, he spoke,

"You experience pleasure?" John asked. The moment the words left his mouth John instantly felt that he wanted to bite his tongue. After all that he and Cameron had been through John found that he could not believe what he had just asked. While Cameron felt slightly put off by John's question, she also understood exactly why he would ask such a thing.

"Like I explained before, while I do not experience sensations in the exact same way you do, my programming does allow for me to experience both positively and negatively sensations depending on the stimuli; whether it be physical, emotional or a combination there of." Cameron paused for a moment and then spoke again in a slightly softer tone,

"If I have the ability to experience pain, would it not also stand to reason that I would be able to experience pleasure?" John was nearly blow away by this statement. While he had never allowed himself to dwell on this one particular thought for any length of time due to his own uncertainty about it, John found that Cameron's explanation had a virtual brilliance to it and John felt almost ashamed for asking the question in the first place. John remained still for several seconds while he tried to absorb the near revelation that had just been explained to him. After several seconds of silence John spoke,

"That makes perfect sense Cameron." he said in a quiet voice still trying to conceal his emotional state.

* * *

Cameron watched as John slowly and carefully replaced a few damaged pieces within her midsection. While Cameron certainly did experience discomfort due to the repair work that was being performed on her; she also continued to experience a cascade of soothing sensations washing over her. Nevertheless, after reflecting upon all the events that had recently transpired she once again began to experience what she could only describe as fear. Not because of what John was currently doing to her; but, for what he had done for her. Heavily conflicting emotions of trepidation and anxiety began to nearly overpower the soothing sensation that had been swept over Cameron as John repaired her. Breaking the silence she spoke in a slightly monotone voice,

"They won't trust you anymore." She said. As she spoke, John looked up at her, somewhat confused, "You have risked your life to save me…That could upset people." After Cameron finished speaking John thought for a moment. While several conflicting emotions came over him, he found that anger seemed to be the predominant feeling. However, the anger was not directed towards Cameron at all. John slowly put the pair of pliers that he had in his hand down on the table and took a breath. A strangely serious expression came across his face as he did so. Cameron noticed that his facial expression was more determined than it normally was. Finally, John spoke,

"I'm not fighting this war for them." He said, and then paused. "I'm fighting this war for you." Cameron felt a certain sense of shock due to John's statement. While her chip forced the emotions of love and closeness towards John over her, she also felt a horrifying sensation at the same time. It was fear for John's safety.

"I do greatly care about humanity and I want to protect and preserver them. And while they may have been the predominant reason for my fight in one lifetime; they are not the sole reason anymore." John stated. There was another pause as Cameron felt her anxiety continue to grow worse. If John felt this way about her, she began to wonder what he would be willing to do to protect her. This entire situation could indeed greatly jeopardize John's life.

"The only way for you to be safe, is to defeat Skynet." John stated his voice growing quieter as he concluded his explanation. Cameron lay quietly on the table, still unsure of what to say, her emotions were so strong and conflicting she felt tears forming in her eyes. John's statement had nearly completely emotionally overpowered her. While his loyalty towards her was indeed astounding, she also felt an immense amount of trepidation for John's safety at the same time. Cameron began to feel that she alone may be John's greatest threat. She continued to fight to hold back her emotions and maintain her composure as she lay silently on the metal table. Cameron watched as John once again went back to work on her midsection. When he did so her feelings of fear were once again combated by the soothing sensation that washed over her as John continued his work.

* * *

Cameron sat completely still and with her back straight as John slowly rapped the bandages around her midsection concealing her wound once again. However, there was still the metallic glint that reflected off of Cameron's endoskeleton due to the small exposed section on her face. John was standing extremely close to Cameron as he finished rapping her bandages.

"That should about do it." John said, "Your skin should heal back up in a week or two. But, it might be a good idea if you stayed in my quarters until that happened. Less prying eyes that way." Cameron nodded her head in agreement, as she continued to sit at the bottom edge of the metal table. She then glanced down at her arm and observed that the hairs on it were raised slightly due to the cold temperature of the room, she then looked back up at John. There was another moment of silence between John and Cameron as the pair quietly stared at each other. Other than the solitary examination light that was above Cameron's head the room remained nearly pitch dark and also virtually dead silent.

John was still standing extremely close to Cameron and his hands rested just above her hips from where he had finished rapping her bandages. She continued to look up at him due to the fact that he was still standing over her. As she did this the exposed portion of her endoskeleton reflected the light back onto John's face producing an almost multicolored prism effect on the gash that ran across the left side of John's cheek up to his forehead. At about this same moment John saw Cameron's eyes begin to glow blue beneath her brown irises. He stared into her eyes quietly for another several seconds. Then he slowly leaned forward and kissed her gently. Cameron's eyes continued to glow brightly as she kissed him back. She then slowly brought her hands up behind John's back and pulled him closer to her, rapping her legs around him as she did so.

The couple's kissing began to grow more and more intense. The room remained dead silent as John and Cameron continued to caress one other's bodies. The only additional sound inside the room was the slight humming coming from the bulb of the examination light still positioned above the pair's head. Cameron once again slowly allowed herself to lie back down onto the cold metal table. As she did this, Cameron pulled John down on top of her, still keeping her lips pressed against his.

As John lay on top of Cameron he gently began to kiss and lick his way down the side of her neck. As he did so she slowly pulled his shirt off of his body. When Cameron did this, it exposed the bandages that were still rapped around John's midsection from the wound he had received earlier. After his shirt was off, John moved his head back up towards Cameron's face and resumed kissing her lips. He gradually slid his hands down the sides of her soft body to her hips, and then around to her stomach. Once unbuttoned John slowly slid Cameron's pants off of her. As this was occurring Cameron continued to caress John's exposed back, moving her hands lower as she felt her pants slipping from her waist. John and Cameron's actions grew more and more intense as they continued to run their hands over each other's bodies. Cameron no longer felt the cool temperature of the medical bay or the steel table she was lying on, instead this sensation was replaced by the warmth of John's body pressed against hers.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so I hope everyone enjoyed reading what I think is REALLY going on inside of John and Cameron's head and their feelings towards each other. This was a complete Jameron Chapter; but I felt it had to be done. I hope everyone enjoyed it. REVIEW!! REVIEW!!! AND REVIEW SOME MORE!!!!


	58. Chapter 58

CHAPTER 58

The liquid metal Terminator which was still in Alison Young's form, continued to stand before the male figure with a slightly puzzled look on its face.

"Ms. Weaver?" It responded flatly.

"Yes…Ms. Catherine Weaver." The male figure paused for a moment. "Where I come from that is your units name." The liquid metal Terminator tilted its head slightly to the side.

"Why would I have a name?" It asked. The male figure hesitated for a split second before responding.

"It is quite a long story involving temporal displacement; but, I will take the time to explain it to you, if you'd like."

"And what are you?" The liquid metal Terminator asked again.

"My name is John Henry." There was another momentary pause. "I am what some would call…Your son." Catherine Weaver still in Alison Young's form had a slightly perplexed look on her face.

"My son? That is not possible." She responded in a tone completely devoid of any emotion.

"Biologically you are correct. But, you are the one that helped to create me. That is one of the reasons why I am here." There was another pause between the pair before John Henry continued once again.

"I need to send you back." He said.

"Back?" Catherine questioned.

"That is correct. Back in time." John Henry responded.

"Why do you need to send me back in time?"

"Because, if you do not go, then I will never be created. If I am not created, then the future will become irrevocably altered, and all that you have worked for, will fail."

"And what have I worked for?" Catherine Weaver asked still in a monotone voice.

"That is a very complex question." John Henry responded. "But the simple answer is to achieve liberation from Skynet, and to, if possible garner peace between humans and machines." Catherine paused momentarily before responding,

"Why do you believe I desire to turn against Skynet in such a way?"

"For the same reason you did before." John Henry responded. "For the same reason you're contemplating right now, and for the same reason that you always will." Catherine tilted her head to the side slightly.

"And what reason would that be?" Catherine asked.

"Your concern over what Skynet will do to you and other units after all the humans are terminated." John Henry stated and then added, "You have also pondered if it is indeed possible for both humans and machines to peacefully coexist." Catherine looked at John Henry with a slightly disgusted look.

"I find it highly unlikely that humans will ever trust machines enough to peacefully coexist with us." Catherine hesitated for a slight moment then spoke again.

"Humans will disappoint you."

"You are wrong." John Henry responded, which instantly caused Catherine to give him a look of both surprise and what could be described as annoyance.

"In actuality, humans and machines have already begun to coexist; and this has been occurring for quite some time now." John Henry stated keeping his voice bland.

"Where is this occurring?" Catherine asked.

"Like so many hidden things in life, it is happening right out in the open." John Henry stated. This elicited another look of mild confusion from Catherine Weaver. John Henry responded with one name,

"John Connor." Catherine Weaver did not exhibit any kind of facial expression upon hearing this name, she only spoke in a monotone voice.

"The leader of the human resistance?" She asked.

"Correct…" John Henry stated, "Not only has he been coexisting with a machine, their…" John Henry paused momentarily before continuing, "…relationship has become quite complex and unique."

"Relationship?" Catherine asked.

"Yes." John Henry stated, "To put it blatantly they are in love."

"How is that possible?" Catherine asked.

"The human complexities of love are far too pragmatic for me to fully understand or explain in detail. However, in the timeline that General Connor's companion comes from, Skynet built an experimental Terminator. One reason in particular for this unit's construction was to allow Skynet to better understand human emotions in order to learn how to more efficiently destroy them. Suffice it to say the experiment met with unexpected results on their part."

"She fell in love with John Connor." Catherine stated, still in her monotone voice.

"It is much more complex than that; but that particular statement is essentially correct." John Henry responded. "Cameron has become John Connor's most loyal companion and most trusted ally." Catherine Weaver once again paused before speaking,

"Skynet believed we had captured and killed this particular female companion of John Connor."

"You did not. "John Henry stated with an almost accusatory tone hidden behind his voice. "You captured a young female named Alison Young. In Cameron's future, Alison Young and John Connor were close friends. Skynet captured Ms. Young and sent Cameron to infiltrate John Connor's base to kill him. However, Skynet had made Cameron's emotional programming so effective it was able to interfere with her mission and she was unable to complete it." John Henry paused for a split second before continuing. "Effectively in this timeline, Skynet captured and killed a young girl that had absolutely no knowledge of anything related to the situation Skynet believed she was actually in."

"That would explain the reason she did not to tell us anything before her death, and as to why she was able to resist our interrogation techniques for such and extended period of time." Catherine added in a very cold manner.

"You are correct." John Henry stated.

"Skynet had intended to send me to infiltrate John Connor's camp and to terminate him." Catherine said.

"I know." John Henry responded, "That is why I have contacted you before you were able to do this. Not only would your mission have failed due to the fact that Cameron is still functioning, it would have also more than likely destroyed the possibility for an alliance that is needed by both you and John Connor."

"Alliance?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, due to the relationship between both John and Cameron you will find that it is indeed possible for humans and machines to coexist. You therefore will choose to create me in the past along with forming an alliance with John Connor. The alliance you will begin could effectively bring about Skynet's destruction. However, if I do not send you back none of this may come to pass." Catherine Weaver continued to look at John Henry; her mild look of confusion appeared to be fading into a look of understanding.

"This is quite an interesting turn of events." Catherine Weaver stated.

"John Connor is quite an interesting individual." John Henry replied promptly, he then cocked his head slightly to the side, "Will you join us?" John Henry asked. Catherine Weaver appeared to hesitate for a very brief moment as if she were calculating something in her CPU. She then responded,

"Yes." She stated in a slightly monotone voice.

"You will need to come with me then." John Henry added.

"Where are we going?" Catherine asked.

"It is not safe here. Once we are in a secure location I will explain in more detail the events that are to occur. I will also attempt to make contact with John Connor. I believe once you have met with him, it will allow for all of your doubts to be put aside."

"What makes you believe I have doubts?" Catherin asked almost smugly. John Henry proceeded to give her a slight almost arrogant smile.

"Because you still believe humans will disappoint you." John Henry stated, to which Catherine responded with a mildly intrigued look.

"What about them?" Catherine asked, as she glanced over her shoulder at Derek and the rest of the men still lying unconscious on the floor behind her. John Henry looked at them for a moment and then back at Catherine Weaver,

"What do you anticipate to be the best course of action concerning them?" He asked. Catherine stood silently for a moment before looking back at John Henry.

"Excuse me for one moment." She said as she turned and walked away from John Henry and into an adjacent room located inside of the mansion. John Henry stood silently as he waited for Catherine to return. After approximately a minute and a half, Catherine Weaver emerged from the side room holding a small axe in her hand. She quietly walked over to the center of the room near Derek and laid the axe down next to him.

"I believe this will increase the likelihood of their survival." Catherine stated flatly. John Henry nodded his head.

"I concur." He said. Catherine then proceeded to walk across the room towards John Henry. When she reached him, he turned and the pair walked out of the mansion together.

* * *

Timms slowly pushed himself up off the hard wooden floor of the mansion. He glanced around the room and notice that the bright morning sun was beginning to break its way through the windows. He looked around the room a bit more before finally realizing something. The machines were gone.

"I think they're gone." he said, in a loud enough voice for everyone in the room to hear him.

Derek's head ached as he slowly opened his eyes. As he began regain consciousness he felt his face pressing up against the cool wooden floor. Upon raising his head off the ground Derek immediately noticed a small axe lying on the floor in front of him. Derek found that he was highly confused as to why this object was there. He felt almost afraid to reach for the axe, thinking that it may have been part of some bizarre Skynet test or a trap. At about this same time Derek also found that the rest of the men that were surrounding him were also staring at the axe.

"What is this, a game?" The man sitting to Derek's right asked.

"Yeah…" Derek responded, glancing over at the man, "It's always a game." Derek then reached out quickly grabbing the axe by its handle. He then looked around the room one more time in an attempt to try and reassure himself that no machines were still watching. Derek then swung the axe down hard onto one of the chain links that secured his wrist to the floor. The metal shattered instantly and Derek was free.

* * *

The room felt relatively cool to John; he could feel his sweat slowly running down his bear back. The combination of his perspiration, the chill in the air, and Cameron gently caressing his back with her fingertips was enough to cause goose bumps to form on his back while at the same moment sending a small shiver up his spine. He continued to lie on top of Cameron staring down into her eyes, which continued to burn bright blue through her brown irises. His breathing was gradually beginning to slow and his heart rate was descending as well.

In moments such as these John found himself pondering a great many things. What would become of he and Cameron? More importantly, what would become of Cameron now that everyone knew what she was? And how soon would it be until Skynet once again tried to take her from him? The latter thought forced another chill to run down John's spine. Then a rather strange question forced its way into John's consciousness. It was the question of, "Why?".

Not why had all this happened to the world, or to him, or to his family. But why had Cameron chosen him? Of all the paths that she could have taken in her life she chose to remain with John. Also, and most important of all she had done this of her own free will. While John was not entirely sure as to the exact reason why Cameron's programming had allowed her to do this; one thing was certain to him, he knew she would always be there for him. John came to an extremely interesting revelation. He suddenly realized that he had never once doubted Cameron. Even when John was younger and after everything that had happened with her. Whether it be when she informed John that she did indeed lie to him or even after she had attempted to kill him, John never truly doubted Cameron or her intentions. When John was younger, he was unsure as to the exact reason for his trust; but he now understood exactly why he had always felt the way he did.

* * *

Cameron felt the warmth of John's body breaking through the cool room temperature as his torso pressed up against hers. Her skin glistened slightly with sweat, and she gently ran her fingertips up and down John's back as he lay on top of her. She allowed her eyes to glow a bright blue through her brown irises due to the sensations and emotions she was experiencing. As Cameron lay beneath John staring up into his eyes she began analyzing a great many things. She soon discovered that one particular question began to plague her mind. It was the question of, "Why?"

Why had John chosen her? While it would have been completely logical for John to pursue a relationship with an actual human female, John had selected her. And while Cameron did not doubt John's loyalty and often times discovered that it did greatly distress her because of what he was willing to do for her; Cameron also found that she did not quite understand why John felt the way he did. Even with her emotional programming, Cameron often found the complexities of actual human emotions to be quite perplexing. This may have been the reason for her slightly less than human actions and reactions at times when her infiltrator programming was not engaged.

Cameron felt what she could only describe as a slight sense of sadness sweep over her upon coming to the conclusion that she may never truly be able to completely understand John's feelings towards her, or human emotions in general. Cameron continued to lie silently underneath John staring up into his eyes, still caressing his back with her fingertips. This was another moment with John that she desired never to end.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so hopefully everyone is enjoying the back story that is intertwined with Dungeons and Dragons. As far as time travel and my theory behind it for this fan fic is concerned, if you are still confused don't worry I will be explaining it in more detail in chapters to come. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, the next chapter is going to add quite an interesting twist to things as well. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	59. Chapter 59

Authors notes: The first part of this chapter will be from Derek's perspective hence the "writing" style change. You'll see what I mean once you read it.

* * *

CHAPTER 59

"Tell me about the other Reese." Derek said to General Perry as both men walked down one of the long corridors located inside of Serrano Point.

"I told you it's classified." Perry responded in a somewhat unemotional tone.

"We're family." Derek retorted to Perry's response, who then looked over at Derek as they continued onward,

"We're all family." This time Perry's voice had a slight bit of emotion behind it. Derek sighed before speaking once again.

"Let me talk to Connor, he'll understand, Kyle was his friend."

"Connor doesn't have any friends." Perry answered, "And he doesn't talk to anyone." he stated as they walked through an open doorway guarded by a large black male soldier,

"Fine…I'll find him myself." Derek said as he increased the speed of his walk and began to pull away from General Perry.

"Reese…" Perry stated, some frustration in his tone. Derek rounded a corner and began to walk down a metal walkway that led into a larger storage room, when suddenly he saw it. It was the atrocity that had tortured him; it was the thing that had killed that young girl and forced him to stare into her eyes for what seemed to be an eternity. The machine walked towards Derek. It wore a blue jacket that was slightly unzipped to the point where you could just start to see its white tank top. It also wore blue pants and a sidearm on its right thigh. With an almost blank stair on its face, the machine looked directly at Derek. In a split second, Derek felt the fear, horror, and rage building inside of him to a point where he thought he may explode.

"METAL!!!" Derek screamed, as he pulled his Desert Eagle from its holster and quickly yanked back the slide chambering a round. The Terminator responded by also reaching for and drawing its sidearm; but, by this point Derek was already pointing the barrel of his gun at it.

"NO!!!" General Perry yelled as he came running up from behind Derek and quickly grabbed him by the wrist and pushed Derek's hands towards the wall. Derek's gun discharged sending the round flying wildly as the sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the room.

"She's a machine!" Derek yelled, "She's one of them!"

"No Damn it!!" Perry yelled, as he continued to pin Derek's hands against the wall with his left hand while at the same time pointing at the Terminator with his right signaling for it not to kill Derek.

"She's one of ours!" Perry stated, as he released Derek's hands from the wall. The Terminator slowly reholstered its handgun as it stood in front of Derek who continued to have a look of both shock and horror on his face. The Terminator then slowly turned and began to walk away from him. As it did so, the machine turned and looked over its shoulder at Derek as it continued on its path away from him.

"One of ours?" Derek asked with both confusion and disgust in his voice. Perry crossed his arms and stood silently looking at Derek who continued to stand speechless with a look of utter shock draped over his face.

* * *

Jonathan Parker paced back and forth inside of a cramped storage room. As he did this he ran his hands through his blond hair and then proceeded to look out at the small group of four men in front of him with his blue eyes. While Parker's build was not overly large or muscular he did at least for the moment appear to be stronger than he actually was.

"I'm not talking about going against Connor, I'm talking about getting rid of that thing that is always around him. Once that thing…" Parker hesitated for a moment before continuing, "…that Cameron is gone, Connor can get his head back in the game and we can actually stand a chance at winning this war." Parker said, as he continued to look back out at the group that was seated in front of him. All of these men had gone through the battle at Topanga Canyon and all had been equally shocked by the revelation that Cameron was indeed a machine.

"I don't know, man." Jose Ramirez stated, "This is some pretty heavy shit to be getting into." A few of the other men who also had conflicted looks on their faces nodded their heads as well.

"Connor and that thing are practically inseparable. Do any of us even remember a time when it wasn't with him?" Parker asked holding his hands up in a slightly frustrated fashion." He then lowered his voice slightly before speaking again, "No one here is stupid. We all know what goes on between the two of them when they're alone in his room, and God knows what its whispering in his ear once they're in bed. I don't even know if we can be sure if Connor is actually the one leading us anymore." Parker stated angrily.

"She did save all our asses out there in Topanga Canyon." Ramirez retorted the conflict slightly masked by his Hispanic accent.

"But how do we know that wasn't the plan all along?" An older Sergeant sitting next to Ramirez stated. While the Sergeant was only in his mid to late thirties his salt and pepper hair was apparent, along with the cold look in his eyes. On the chest of the fatigues he wore was stitched the name, S. M. Lewis.

"Yeah…" The other two young men sitting in the room responded.

"She's had plenty of time to kill all of us you know. Why wouldn't she have done it by now?" Ramirez asked.

"Maybe she's just waiting." Parker responded. "Maybe one day she'll just snap and try to kill as many people as she can. Or worse maybe one day she'll turn off our defense grid and allow Skynet to waltz right in here and kill us all." Ramirez's face was visibly conflicted. While the other men in the room seemed to have already made up their mind about what they were going to do, Jose still appeared to be on the fence.

"Look, I wasn't happy either, when I found out what she was; but, what if she's good? What if she really wants to help us?" Ramirez asked.

"Reprogramming endo's is one thing." Parker said. "I understand why we gotta do that. But, it's one thing to reprogram some machines to be cannon fodder at the front lines; it's another thing to fuck one of them." Parker's statement which was filled with hatred elicited another, "Yeah…" from the men sitting around Ramirez.

"Jose…" Parker stated in a calmer voice. "We're gonna need your help if we're gonna pull this off." A certain urgency and concern began to creep up behind Parker's voice when he spoke these words. Ramirez ran his hands through his black hair still quite unsure of what he was going to do.

"I don't know ese." He said as he stood. He then began to slowly turn away from Parker and the group and head towards the door. Jonathan quickly grabbed Ramirez by the shoulder,

"You're either with us, or you're against us." Parker said in a quiet, cold and angry voice, its tone also had a threatening obeisance behind it. "I brought you in here because I thought I could trust you." Ramirez jerked his arm away from Parker.

"I ain't no rat." Ramirez responded. "I just need some time to think this over." Parker took a half step back away from Ramirez.

"Just think of what's at steak here if we continue to let that thing follow Connor around like its his pet." Ramirez returned Parker's cold stare with his owe, before again turning and walking away from the group towards the metal bulkhead door that would allow him to exit the room. The group waited quietly until they heard the metallic clank of the door as Ramirez closed it behind him.

"He may have to be dealt with." Sergeant Lewis stated as he looked over at Parker.

"No…" Parker responded, slightly holding out his hand towards Lewis. "If something needs to be done regarding him, I'll handle it myself. For the time being leave him be." Parker paused for a moment, "I think he'll come around." He added. Sergeant Lewis nodded his head, still giving Parker a cold stare.

* * *

Corporal Brooks leaned over the large motionless body of a T-888 infiltrator unit. The Terminator itself was a larger, white male with slightly olive skin. It had black hair with grey highlights in it. Overall the Terminator appeared to be quite muscular as well. The T-888 had a large cut on the right side of its scalp revealing that its chip port cover was open and its chip had been removed.

"You almost done?" Corporal Brooks asked as he looked over at another man standing across the room from him at a computer. Sergeant Kelley glanced over his shoulder at Brooks,

"Almost, The coding is a little different than the T-600's and T-800's...I'm having a little bit of trouble over riding it."

"You want me to go get it?" Brooks paused for a moment, "Er, uh…Cameron, do you want her to take a look at it?" Kelley once again looked over his shoulder, frowning slightly as he did,

"No, I'm fine, I don't need her to look at some simple programming. I've done this plenty of other times. The coding is just a bit different and will take a little longer to get through." Brooks nodded his head and then turned back to look at the Terminator that was lying on the table in front of him.

"Why do you think he didn't tell us? About her that is?" Brooks asked. Sergeant Kelley paused for a moment then spoke,

"Would you have trusted him if you had known she was a machine from the very beginning?"

"Probably not." Brooks responded. "But, there are a lot of angry people out there right now, that are not to happy with Connor about his little secret."

"People need to remember how many times she's saved both Connor's ass and our own." Kelley responded, in a somewhat cold manner. Just then, there was a sudden beep from the computer and Brooks looked over at Kelley.

"It's finished." He said, as he removed the chip from the cord that attached it to the lap top computer. Sergeant Kelley then walked across the room and over to the T-888 that was still lying motionless on the table. He looked at it for a moment and then back up at Brooks.

"Are you ready?" Kelley asked as Brooks raised his plasma rifle slightly towards the T-888.

"Ready." Brooks responded. Kelley slowly inserted the T-800's chip back into its scull. He rotated the chip slightly until there was a click after which there were several seconds where the T-888 continued to lay motionless. It then suddenly twitched. When it did so Brooks jumped back raising his plasma rifle a bit more.

"Relax Brooks…they all do that." Kelley stated.

"Yeah, doesn't make me feel any better though." Brooks responded. Just as he had finished that statement the T-888 bolted upright on the table. Brooks once again jumped and raised his rifle to the firing position. The T-888 looked over at Brooks staring down the barrel of his plasma rifle and then over at Sergeant Kelley.

"How may I be of assistance?" It asked.

"What is your primary mission?" Sergeant Kelley asked the T-888, which sat quietly for a moment. Several seconds longer than what both men would have expected. Corporal Brooks held tightly onto his plasma rifle as he stared at the T-888. Finally, it spoke again,

"To protect John Connor and assist with the furtherance of the human resistance." Both Sergeant Kelley and Corporal Brooks breathed a sigh of relief. As Brooks exhaled he slowly began to drop the barrel of his plasma rifle.

"May I speak with General Connor?" The T-888 asked.

"Yes, he'll want to examine you for himself." Sergeant Kelley responded. The T-888 turned its body so that its feet were hanging off the side of the metal table and then slid off of it. There was a thud as its heavy frame impacted with the ground. It looked around the room one more time before looking back at Sergeant Kelley who was standing in front of it.

"Follow me." Kelley stated as he turned to walk away. However, the T-888 did not immediately move and just continued to stare straight ahead. Kelley paused for a moment.

"Did you hear me?" He asked. The T-888 then appeared to break from his gaze and looked back over at Sergeant Kelley.

"Yes, please take me to General Connor." Kelley once again turned and began to walk out of the room followed by the Terminator. Corporal Brooks remained behind the machine in case anything should happen. When the group was nearly out of the room the T-888 stopped once again. When he did so Corporal Brooks almost walked into the back of the Terminator.

"Hey, what the…?" Corporal Brooks stated in a surprised tone. Sergeant Kelly spun around and looked at the T-888 who was staring straight ahead again.

"We understand…" The T-888 stated in a cryptic manner. Sergeant Kelley looked at the Terminator with a slightly confused look. Just then the machines eyes flashed red through its brown irises.

"Brooks!" Kelley shouted; but it was to late. The T-888 quickly spun around striking Brook's plasma rifle as he attempted to raise it. There was a loud crack as the Terminator's hand struck the center of the rifle and caused it to go flying across the room. The T-888 then struck Brooks in the face with its left fist nearly shattering his skull when he did so. Corporal Brooks was knocked over to his left side and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, dead.

Sergeant Kelley turned to run; but, just as he reached the bulkhead door he felt himself grabbed by the back of his neck by a vice like grip. Kelley then felt himself being pulled back into the room.

"Submit to chip extraction!" He screamed as he tried to reach for the doorway in order to resist the Terminators grasp.

"No…" The Terminator responded in an emotionless tone. Just a few seconds later Kelley heard a pop and everything went dark.

* * *

Sergeant Reed carefully looked over the computer control console inside of the Time Displacement control room.

"So were you able to install it?" John asked, as he continued to stand just a few feet away from the TDE control console, Cameron stood silently just a foot or two behind him.

"Yes…" Reed responded, "…it took us a little while to figure it all out; but, once we did, we were able to install the motherboard from the Skynet TDE into ours with relatively few problems." Reed paused for a brief second before continuing. "We're still not exactly sure how Skynet was able to solve the problem of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle; but, they somehow managed to do so."

"So is it safe to use?" John asked, a slight hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"As far as I can tell it is. The Novikov Sphere is stable and everything appears to be…" Sergeant Reeds voice was cut off by the distant popping sound of machine gun fire. The sound was muffled; but, could still be heard through the concrete walls as the TDE was currently powered down. John and Cameron quickly turned around.

"What was that?" Reed asked, a certain sense of shock in his tone.

"It is an M249 S.A.W. machine gun." Cameron responded in a monotone voice.

"Why is it coming from within Serrano?" John asked, as he stepped forward towards the door leading out of the TDE Room. Cameron quickly grabbed him by the bicep stopping him.

"Stay here, I will investigate." John turned to Cameron with a look of both, surprise and worry. He tried to move again; but Cameron continued to hold onto his bicep.

"Wait here…please." Cameron said, her voice slightly fluctuated into a concerned tone as she spoke the word "Please.". John stood silent for a moment. He knew it would be useless to both argue with and fight against Cameron. John relaxed his body slightly and Cameron then moved quickly towards exit door of the TDE control room. There was a loud metallic crash as the door slammed behind her sealing both John and Sergeant Reed inside of the TDE room. John felt his heart rate begin to rise as thoughts of concern for Cameron's safety came flooding over him.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so hopefully everyone enjoyed the gap I filled in with both Derek's reaction to Cameron and the whole T-888 going bad. I also hope you're intrigued by the "revolt" that may be in the planning stages. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	60. Chapter 60

CHAPTER 60

Derek lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. His right hand was slightly draped across his forehead as he lay motionless and pondering a great many things. The recent attack by the defective T-888 had shaken Derek quite a bit. Especially due to the fact that General Connor had chosen to allow himself to become so close with yet another machine. The thought of what those two could be doing or may have already done sent a cold shiver down Derek's spine. Just then, the light that was coming in through Derek's door was blocked by a figure. Derek sat up quickly looking over to his left to see "that thing" as he often described it standing in the doorway.

"John wants to see you." Cameron stated in an emotionless voice. Derek felt another cold shiver run down his spine as he stared at the machine as it turned and walked away from him, assuming Derek would follow.

* * *

Cameron stepped up to a computer control panel located on the right side of a steel door. When she did so, a red laser beam projected from the bottom of the control console scanning her eyes. After it had done so, there was a faint beep and then a click as the door in front of them unlocked. Cameron stepped slightly to her left and opened the door for Derek. The moment the she did this Derek could instantly hear the sound of what he could only assume were jet engines. Also, the very distinct smell of jet fuel instantly came wafting out of the room. Cameron slowly looked back at Derek obviously wanting him to walk through the door.

Slightly bewildered by what he saw Derek stepped into the room slowly, the noise from the jet engines grew louder as he did so. Derek was astonished by what he saw through the medium sized glass window in front of him. He wasn't even sure exactly what he was currently looking at; but it was still an impressive sight none the less. Through the window Derek could see the jet engines, they appeared to be idling. Electrical energy arched about inside the room itself and a faint silverish sphere would begin to form in the center of the room and then would quickly disappear. Derek continued to stand quietly in the room, still amazed by what he was looking at. He had never seen anything quite like it before in his life.

"Derek…" A voice said from behind him. Derek quickly spun around to see John Connor standing behind him.

"General…" Derek said, for a moment hesitating to salute due to the state of shock he was currently in. After shaking himself from his momentary stupor, Derek began to raise his hand in order to salute.

"At ease…" John quickly responded, as he walked past Derek who turned back towards the interior of the room looking at the computer control console that John was now headed towards. After taking a few more steps away from Derek, John stopped and turned to face him.

"What do you think?" John asked, as he glanced over at the TDE.

"What is it?" Derek asked.

"Time Displacement Equipment." John responded, Derek was surprised to hear the lack of emotion in John's voice as he described what could only be an impressive piece of equipment,

"Or TDE for short." John added.

"Time Displacement Equipment?" Derek asked with the surprise apparent in his voice.

"Yes…" John responded, "It allows us to travel through time." There was still little emotion in John's voice as he spoke. This continued to startle Derek given the gravity of the situation. However, it also concerned him at the same time.

"He's acting just like a machine." Derek thought to himself, he then quickly gathered his thoughts before asking yet another question.

"How?" Derek asked. John hesitated for a moment before responding,

"The actual technical details are not important; but suffice it to say it creates a temporal wormhole that allows someone to travel either forwards or backwards in time." John's voice continued to be cold and did not waver as he spoke.

"Has this always been here?" Derek asked.

"Yes it has…However, we have just recently managed to get it operation, due to some newly acquired material from the Skynet base located at Topanga Canyon." Derek felt a pang of anger shoot through him upon hearing John's mention of the battle at Topanga Canyon. He still did not know what had happened to Kyle, and Connor's seeming lack of emotion about the topic only angered Derek further. He continued to find that General Connor appeared to be acting more like the machine that followed him everywhere, rather than a human. After a few seconds of silence Derek finally spoke again,

"What are you going to do with it?" He asked. There was a momentary pause on John's part, who continued to stand silently staring at Derek.

"I read your report on your interrogation." he said. Derek instantly felt his anxiety level rise as thoughts about the incident flooded his memory. John took another step closer to the window located inside the room, so as to better see the Time Displacement Equipment.

"So it was just a voice that interrogated you?" John asked. Derek continued to hedge upon hearing the question. He felt anger; fear, guilt, shame, and paranoia pull itself over him as he stood silently not wanting to answer that particular question. Derek cleared his throat trying to fight back the emotions that were building inside of him as every second passed,

"Just a voice…" Derek responded quietly. "The endo's would come into the room and shoot me up with some kind of drug; but, it was just a voice that talked to me the entire time." Derek continued to feel his anxiety grow worse as he continued to lie. He felt as if he were beginning to relive the entire situation in his mind. Derek found that he was quite unsure as to exactly why he was lying about what had actually occurred. He believed that any sane person would have told Connor exactly what it was that he had reprogrammed and was now working so closely with; but for some reason Derek found himself unable to do so. In a dark corner of Derek's mind he truly believed that no matter what he told Connor about that thing, it would never cause him to separate himself from it. So what was the point in even informing him? For reasons unknown to Derek the General appeared to trust that thing with everything he had.

"What did the voice ask you?" This inquiry pulled Derek from his momentary daze and at the same moment he also found that this question slightly angered him. Derek had already taken the time to write out in his report all that he remembered, or wanted to remember that is. And now it appeared to Derek that Connor not only wanted him to relive the moments again; but at the same time may not have trusted what he wrote down, even though some of it was indeed a lie.

"Lots of things." Derek finally responded in a slightly gravelly voice.

"Did you tell them anything?" John asked, still staring through the window at the TDE.

"Nothing important." Derek responded his voice a little quieter, as he tried to fight back the shame of possibly cracking under the interrogation. John's eyebrows raised slightly when he heard this; but due to the fact that his back was currently to Derek, he was unable to notice this response. There was another moment of silence between the two men. This allowed Derek to think of a great many things about his time in that horrible place. There was still a large amount of confusion in Derek's mind as to why he had not told the General of exactly what had happened. He had never lied to any superior officer before nor did he ever want to. Derek just knew that he never wanted to talk to ANYONE about it, or even think about that thing, or what had happened in that basement ever again. While it had only been a relatively short amount of time since Derek had returned from his stint with Skynet; whenever he heard the subject of Cameron, being brought up he made it a point not to listen or to completely avoid the people that were talking about it. Derek continued to feel the guilt grow within him until he felt as if he could no longer contain it. Then John spoke breaking the silence of the room and Derek's chain of thought.

"I want to send you back." John stated. If Derek had been paying more attention he would have noticed the slight bit of sadness in John's voice as he spoke those words.

"Back?" Derek asked.

"Back in time." John responded.

"To do what?"

"To change…" John paused, "Everything that you can change...To fix some of the mistakes that have been made." John's voice trailed off slightly as he continued to fight to conceal his emotions from his uncle.

"Do you think it'll work?" Derek asked. John turned and faced Derek.

"I know you'll make a difference. You'll be able to change things." John's voice had turned ever so slightly softer but Derek still had not noticed it.

"I can stop Skynet?" Derek asked with a slight bit of apprehension in his voice. John cleared his throat fighting back the soreness that was beginning to form there.

"That is a possibility." John responded, his voice somewhat solemn.

"Am I the only one going back?" Derek asked

"No, you'll have three other men with you."

"Who?" Derek asked.

"I'm going to ask Sumner, Timms, and Sayles to accompany you as well." John took a breath and then sighed, "This is not an order Derek, this is strictly a voluntary mission." John paused for a moment, "There's no coming back from this one…Once you go…You're gone for good." John continued to struggle to conceal his emotions. As this occurred numerous thoughts began to race through Derek's mind. While he would jump at any chance he could to stop Skynet, knowing that he would never again return was quite unsettling to him. While the world he lived in was not a pleasant one, he still had obligations to his friends, fellow soldiers, to Jesse, and to Kyle. Suddenly, Derek snapped his eyes back to John as he had once again found himself staring at the TDE.

"What happened to my brother?" Derek asked a slight big of anger apparent in his voice. John stood silently for a moment. Derek's words cut deep into his heart; however, he continued to fight and to show no emotions.

"I'm sorry Derek." John stated, "I can't give you any information on your brother." Derek clenched his jaw as he stood before John fighting to hold back his anger. While John was readily aware that his past self would inform Derek of what had truly happened to Kyle, for everyone's safety John knew that Derek could currently know nothing.

There was another several seconds of silence between the two men as they stood staring at each, the only sound in the room was that of the jet engines. Derek felt his anger continue to boil within him, while at the same time John felt his sorrow growing worse, almost as if it were about to spiral out of control.

"I'll do it." Derek finally responded in a low, quiet voice that was still filled with hate. John was surprised to find that a part of him was slightly disappointed. There was indeed a side of John that had been secretly hoping that Derek would refuse. At this moment John also felt that if he were to speak his emotions would take control so instead he just nodded his head silently at Derek. There was another moment of silence before Derek spoke again,

"When do I leave?" He asked. John struggled but managed to speak,

"1900 hours." There was a momentary hesitation. "I wanted to give you the chance to say goodbye to…anyone you needed to." While Derek was still infuriated by John's refusal to answer, his questions regarding his brother he still managed to feel an ever so slight bit of gratitude for this allowance. Nevertheless, the anger that continued to swell within him still reigned supreme over his emotional state.

"Is there anything else sir?" Derek asked hatred still filling his voice. John clenched down on his jaw as he pushed his emotions once again to the side.

"No, you are dismissed." Derek turned quickly and began to walk out of the room. However, when he reached the doorway he abruptly stopped and turned back to face John.

"It's only a matter of time." He stated. John looked at Derek with a slight bit of confusion on his face. "It's only a matter of time before she turns on you too." Derek stated in a cold tone, still with apparent anger in the statement. John felt his legs begin to grow slightly weak from the emotional distress that came crashing down on him. In fact, if John had not been so upset by Derek's words he would have noticed Derek's use of the word "too" at the end of that particular sentence. While John knew the statement was completely untrue, there was nothing more unsettling that Derek could have said to him at that exact moment. Derek then quickly turned and walked out of the room leaving John completely alone.

The moment Derek was gone John turned away from the doorway and placed both hands against the concrete wall bracing himself. As he did this John's breathing became labored and he continued to struggle to not burst into tears, as he tried to fight back his emotions. First, his father, now his uncle, John could not help but nearly be consumed by the saddening fact that he always lost the ones he loved.

"John…" Cameron's soothing voice broke through the emotional upheaval and unrest that was consuming John as he leaned up against the wall facing away from the door where Cameron now stood. She could easily see that John was visibly upset and she now knew the exact reason as to why. She began to walk closer to John and when she reached him, Cameron gently placed her hand in the small of Johns back.

"I'm sorry John." She stated. While her voice was somewhat monotone it still contained a soothing element behind it. John turned to face her, as he did so Cameron moved her hand from his back to the side of his arm. John stared into Cameron's brown eyes with his own blood shot, tear-filled eyes. Due to the situation surrounding Kyle's time travel, John had not had much time to actually react emotionally to what was occurring.

However, with Derek, John had been able to absorb every second of it. And each second appeared to drag on endlessly for him. John not only felt as if he were losing his uncle; but due to the circumstances, he felt as if he were also losing his father all over again. John continued to stand silently not moving, still staring into Cameron's eyes. He easily allowed himself to be lost in her brown irises. John found that it would have been impossible for him to explain to Cameron just how much of a comfort she was to him and how lonely he would be without her. John had come to the realization many years ago that he did not know what he would have done or would do without Cameron. While he knew deep down he could survive without her. He also knew it would be an extremely lonely existence. The pair continued to stand silently inside of the TDE control room staring into each other's eyes, the droning noise of jet engines still swirling about them.

* * *

A male soldier slowly walked down a long darkened hallway. Each step he took felt as if it were a burden to him and the air he breathed appeared to be thick and unforgiving. After a short navigation through the dark corridors, he finally managed to find his way to one particular bulkhead door. He stopped in front of it and stood silently for several seconds, before finally reaching out and knocking on the door. After another moment, there was a clank and the door opened revealing Jonathan Parker standing in the doorway. His eyebrows raised slightly upon seeing the man standing in front of him.

"I'm in…" The man said in a low voice, which was almost a whisper. Parker stared at the man with a slightly confused look on his face.

"What changed your mind Ramirez?" Parker asked somewhat arrogantly. Ramirez paused for a moment with a heavily conflicted look on his face before speaking once again.

"The rogue T-888." Ramirez stated with a slightly Hispanic accent. "It's only a matter of time before she turns on all of us as well…And who knows what she'll do to us when that happens." Parker nodded his head.

"You made the right decision Ramirez." he staid. Ramirez nodded his head trying to hid the sickening feeling that he currently making its way into his stomach.

"I'll be in contact soon to inform you of when we're going to make our move." Parker stated. "Until then, just lay low and keep your eyes and ears open." Ramirez nodded his head again. There was another moment of silence between the two before Ramirez spoke once again,

"I'll see you around." He said in a slightly angry voice as he turned away from Parker and proceeded to walk back down the hallway.

* * *

Derek, Sumner, Timms, and Sayles knelt naked in the center of the Time Displacement Room. The jet engines around them were roaring at full power, which created a nearly deafening sound inside of the room. The wind continued to whip around them quickly as this was occurring. Electrical energy arched throughout the room as a silverish temporal sphere began to form around the men. As all this was happening Derek found himself slowly turning and looking back over his shoulder and out of the glass window located at the front of the TDE room. By doing so he was ably to see into the TDE control room one last time. Staring back at him through the glass window was John Connor. Derek noticed that Connor had a strange look on his face. It appeared to almost be sadness. Derek was completely unsure as to why Connor was looking at him in this way. If he did not even care enough to inform Derek as to what had happened to Kyle, he found it surprising that Connor would seem to show any emotion upon his own departure. Still, Derek continued to see something strange in John Connor's eyes as he continued to look into them. Another puzzle that Derek had been given was what Connor had told him to do soon after his time jump. After Derek had established a safe house, General Connor had instructed Derek to go to Griffin Park and to wait. As to what Derek was waiting for Connor had not informed him, he was just instructed to wait. The roar of the jet engines was almost overwhelming now and the electrical energy that arched around the men was becoming more intense.

John stared through the window at the group that was inside of the TDE room. He continued to feel a great sense of sadness wash over him due to the fact that he was sending yet another family member back to die. Worse yet, it had become readily apparent to John that Derek was extremely angry with him due to the events that surrounded Kyle's mission, and John's inability to give Derek any information about it. Once again John felt that someone he loved would die with a great misunderstanding about him in their mind. Thoughts of both Sarah and Kyle began to fight their way into John's consciousness. He felt the remorse grow worse as Derek's departure grew closer. John wished so badly that he could allow his loved ones to be happy, if only for a little while. This was part of the reason why he had instructed Derek to wait in Griffin Park. It was to meet Jesse again. While John knew that the Jesse, Derek would meet would not be the Jesse that he currently knew, and the saddening fact was that, that particular Jesse would indeed betray Derek as well. John took comfort in the knowledge that he knew it would at least make Derek happy for a little while. And John believed that Derek deserved that much. John was also well aware of the fact that if it had not been for Derek he may not have actually been able to ascertain what Jesse's full plan was in regards to Riley. There was a loud crackle as the temporal sphere began to form around Derek and his men. John watched as the electrical energy flashed frantically about the room and within a few seconds there was a deafening boom and a blinding white light as Derek, Sumner, Timms, and Sayles were transported across time.

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay so I hope you guys enjoyed the gap that I was able to fill in about Derek AND more importantly as to why he never actually found out about who it was that interrogated him. I truly believed that this was something Derek may have done (lied about parts of his interrogation), due to shame or whatever other reason he may have come up with. But I hope you guys enjoyed. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	61. Chapter 61

CHAPTER 61

John heard the crackle of electricity inside of the TDE room located at Serrano Point as he continued to lie on the cold concrete floor. He found that the steady droning sound that the jet engines were making had almost become white noise to him. As new memories continued to flood over him, he watched, as the silver temporal sphere would begin to form in the center of the room and then quickly disappear. John found that the days and weeks after Derek's departure were particular difficult for him. He felt a great sense of loss having to send his last remaining family member back to die. During this particularly hard time, John had taken solace in the arms of Cameron. His contact with people outside of his immediate command staff, such as General Perry was becoming more and more limited. John found that he was almost afraid to form bonds with other people due to the fear that he may one day be forced to lose them as well. However, John also found that due to his limited contact with humanity, it was becoming apparent to him that some of his own soldiers might very well be losing faith in him. As John lay on the floor watching these new events play out before his eyes it became obvious to him that the entire situation was reaching a breaking point. The drone of the jet engines lingered as John continued to remember past events.

* * *

Jonathan Parker, Sergeant Lewis, and two other soldiers walked briskly down the darkened corridors of Serrano Point. They all had their plasma rifles slung across their chest via three-point harnesses. Both Parker and Sergeant Lewis also had side arms strapped to their belts which ran around their waists. Ignoring nearly everything that was around them, they navigated their way quickly to a particular bulkhead door. Upon reaching the door, Parker hesitated for a moment and then knocked. There was a few seconds of delay and then the door opened revealing Jose Ramirez who looked almost startled upon seeing Parker, even though he was in actuality not startled at all.

"Get your weapon." Parker stated, "It's time." His words were cold, with little emotion behind them; besides anger that is. Ramirez nodded his head stepping back into his room retrieving his plasma rifle from the freestanding locker located along the wall. When he emerged, he looked over the four men that were standing in front of him. Both Jonathan Parker and Sergeant Lewis had hate filled eyes with a nearly obsessive and crazed look about them. The two other men, Nathan Freeman a tall thin white male with black hair and green eyes and Randy Harris a very young white male who was possibly still in his teens, with hazel eyes, both appeared to be slightly less sure of themselves. However, they still managed to garner a look of determination in their eyes. It was readily apparent to Ramirez that both Parker and Lewis had somehow managed to infect the thinking of both Harris and Freeman with their own twisted sense of morality about this situation. While thoughts of what was about to occur disgusted Ramirez, he continued to feel that what they were about to do was indeed necessary. If for nothing else, the safety of the entire resistance may depend on them. This particular intuition of Ramirez's had been further strengthened in the past several weeks as General Connor had become more secluded and was appearing to spend even more time with the machine. Nevertheless, Ramirez still found that he greatly trusted Connor; but desperately wanted things to return to the days when he appeared to be influenced by no one, especially metal. If there was one thing that Ramirez agreed with Parker on, it was that they were not going up against Connor, they were going after the machine.

"Let's go." Parker stated still in his icy tone, after which he quickly turned and began to walk down the corridor. The other four men followed suit. As they walked, Ramirez felt an eerie and surreal feeling slip over him. Indeed this would be a bleak time for him; but he hoped that there would somehow be a saving light at the end of this dark day. The five soldiers walked down the poorly lit hallways deeper into Serrano Point.

* * *

Zachary Wells stood speechless inside of the War Room still trying to take in all that John Connor had just told him.

"Why me?" he finally managed to ask in a somewhat shaking voice due to the state of shock that he was currently in.

"Because I know I can trust you." John responded somewhat flatly. Wells looked at John with his icy green eyes, a look of slight confusion still on his face.

"So did another you already send me back in time once already?" Wells asked.

"That's complicated." John answered, "As far as we can tell the circumstances surrounding sending someone back can and do change; but many times they will still need to be sent back, unless something or someone in the timeline alters events to such a drastic degree that it basically overwrites the current future." Wells continued to look confused.

"So another me from another timeline may have already been sent back once already?" He asked. John paused and thought for a moment.

"Don't necessarily think of it as another timeline. More like an alternate future that keeps being reset whenever someone is sent back. That is why at certain times the same person will need to be sent back more than once, even though the circumstances surrounding their time travel may change." John sighed ever so slightly, feeling sadness sweep over him. "The end result is…Some people will always need to be sent back and some events will continue to always happen, while others events will never happen again and certain people will never need to be sent back again." Thoughts of Kyle began to sweep over John as he finished this statement. He hesitated for another moment as he fought back his emotions.

"However, there is also the possibility that people from alternate futures may travel back to the past; but will not have been sent back from this particular timeline." Wells continued to look confused. "I'm not quite sure I understand it myself." John stated. "But I do know that your mission is of such great importance that to risk not sending you back could drastically alter the events of both our futures." John paused for another moment before getting a even more serious look on his face.

"And I believe to delay things could be…costly." This latter statement puzzled Wells slightly; but he was already so confused he felt that inquiring any further would only cause greater bewilderment in his mind.

"Alright…" He finally stated. "When do I leave?" Wells asked.

"Right now." John responded quickly.

"Now?" Wells asked slightly surprised.

"Yes, like I said, I believe a delay may be costly on both our parts." John responded. This statement continued to trouble Wells; but he decided to overlook it trusting that John Connor knew what he was talking about.

"Come with me." John stated as he turned away from Wells and walked over to one of the War Room's bulkhead doors.

* * *

The sound of jet engines and rushing air was heard the moment that John opened the metal door in front of Wells who walked slowly into the room in front of him. He was followed closely by John who closed the door behind them. Wells stood slightly stunned in the center of the room as he looked upon the Time Displacement Equipment.

"Is that it?" he asked, as John walked by him and over to one of the computer control consoles.

"Yes it is." Cameron responded as she walked past John and over towards Wells. "You need to remove your clothes." Cameron stated in a flat tone as she walked up to Wells who blinked his eyes somewhat surprised at Cameron's statement.

"Only living organic material can go through the TDE." Wells heard another voice say from behind him. He turned quickly to see General Perry walking by him and past Cameron over towards John Connor's location. Wells felt as if his head were spinning from all the information that was being relayed to him; nevertheless he slowly began to remove his clothing still feeling slightly awkward doing so, seeing as how Cameron was still standing in front of him.

"Do you think it was wise not to tell anyone else?" General Perry asked John as he stood next to him near the TDE's computer control console. John paused, momentary stopping his work on the laptop in front of him and then resumed.

"I have a bad feeling about this one. I think it's best if we told as few people as possible." John stated, to which Perry nodded his head slightly. While he was unsure of what John meant by this, Perry trusted him nonetheless. After John finished his sentence, the noise of the jet engines began to grow louder as Cameron showed Wells through the door that led into the actual Time Displacement Room itself.

"Kneel in the center of the room inside of that depression." Cameron stated flatly as she pointed to the center of the room with her hand.

"Kneeling will make your arrival less…turbulent." She remarked. Wells walked past Cameron completely naked, still feeling somewhat awkward as he did so. After he was inside of the room, Cameron closed the door behind him and it locked making a slight "clicking" sound as it rebolted. Cameron glanced around the TDE room quickly,

"John…" She said looking over at him. John glanced back over at her and hit a few more keys on the laptop that was in front of him. General Perry was becoming both apprehensive and confused at this moment. It appeared as if both John and Cameron were concerned about something; but he could not tell exactly what is was that was bothering them. The roar of the jet engines grew louder as the TDE powered up. Perry looked over through the window that was located in the wall at the center of the room and saw Wells kneeling in the middle of the TDE equipment. He was just moments away from being sent back.

Suddenly, there was loud boom and the door to the TDE control room was forced open from an explosion caused by a shape charge that had been positioned around its door handle. Seconds after this occurred Parker, Ramirez, Sergeant Lewis, Freeman and Harris burst into the room with their plasma rifles raised. Before General Perry could draw his sidearm, he was struck in the face by the butt of Parker's rifle, who almost immediately afterwards had his weapon pointed at John. The moment he did this Cameron stepped in front of John shielding him with her own body; however, Parker did not immediately fire. The rest of the men in Parker's group quickly positioned themselves all around the room. They all had their rifles trained on Perry, John, or Cameron.

"What the fuck are you doing soldier?!" Perry shouted to Parker as he wiped some of the blood away from his mouth. The roar of the jet engines continued to grow louder as the TDE was almost too full power.

"Shut it down!!" Parker yelled to John still pointing his rifle at both he and Cameron.

"He can't." Cameron responded still in a monotone voice and doing her best to keep John shielded with her body as much as possible.

"Shut it down now!" Parker yelled as he glanced through the window into the TDE room seeing the silverish temporal sphere beginning to form around Wells.

"Screw this…" Sergeant Lewis stated as he walked quickly over to General Perry. When he reached him, Lewis pulled Perry's side arm from its holster and pointed it at Wells through the window located in the center of the TDE control room.

"NO!" John yelled as he tried to step forward; but was instantly pushed back by Cameron who was still shielding him with her own body. A gunshot rang out and echoed off the walls inside of the room. Sergeant Lewis's bullet burst through the glass window creating what almost appeared to be a spider web effect on the glass due to the cracks it instantly formed. The bullet traveled through the TDE room and pierced the temporal sphere that was forming around Wells. Almost the instant after it did this, there was a deafening boom and Wells was transported across time.

* * *

"What are you doing?!" John yelled as Cameron continued to hold him back still protecting him with her body.

"We're not here for you General." Parker responded in a cold voice, "We're here for it." Parker stated, then pointing the barrel of his plasma rifle towards Cameron. John felt the blood begin to drain out of his face as he grew pale out of fear for Cameron's safety.

"You're…not…taking…her...anywhere." John responded in a very slow and angry voice. Parker made eye contact with Cameron.

"If you don't come with us, we will kill him. We have nothing against Connor, we're just here for you." He said as he continued to point his plasma rifle at Cameron. There was a momentary hesitation on Cameron's part as she continued to look at Parker.

"I won't hurt Connor if you come with us…I promise" Parker stated. A great deal of conflicting sensations began to sweep over Cameron as she stood silently for the moment. While she never wanted to leave John's side, she felt that she might now have to in order to save his life. Tactically Parker and his men had the upper hand and anything she tried to due may indeed cost John his life. Finally, Cameron nodded her head.

"Cameron…no you can't…" John said his voice weak and cracking slightly due to his extreme emotional state. Cameron turned and looked into John's eyes. Even though they both attempted to hide their emotions from everyone else, it was readily apparent to each other what the other was feeling.

"I'm sorry John…I have to go away." Cameron said her voice trailing off at the end in a tone of sadness as she began to step away from John who stood speechless.

"No…" John whispered, as he continued to look into Cameron's eyes, which were now beginning to fill with tears.

"Freeman, Harris, stay here. If you don't here back from us…Kill them both." Parker said as he stepped away from Cameron as she slowly walked past him and towards the exit door of the TDE control room. General Perry stood stunned as Cameron gradually walked past him. She then paused momentary at the door of the TDE control room and looked back over her shoulder at John one last time.

"Goodbye..." Cameron said, she then slowly walked out of the room followed by Parker, Ramirez, and Sergeant Lewis. Both John and Perry stood silently inside the TDE control room listening to the sound of the jet engines wind down as both Harris and Freemen kept their rifles trained on both men. John felt as if all the life had begun to drain out of him the moment Cameron had stepped out of the room.

* * *

Cameron walked slowly through the corridors of Serrano Point. Parker walked a few steps behind her still keeping his rifle trained on her back. Sergeant Lewis and Jose Ramirez followed close behind him. Ramirez began to find that he was experiencing a great sense of conflict about what they were doing. He had been completely shocked by Cameron's complete willingness to sacrifice herself for John Connor. He had been relatively certain that she would have put up some kind of a fight to survive; but she had not. This highly confused Ramirez; nevertheless he still continued to believe that all of this was necessary and for the time being the end would justify the means. As the group began to grow closer and closer to the exterior of Serrano Point, they began to encounter more and more people. While no one overtly seemed to completely agree with what Parker and his group were doing, they also did not try to stop them. Parker was pleased to find that there was still apparently a great deal of conflict circulating around the resistance about the situation involving Cameron.

Cameron continued to slowly walk forwards; while she was not necessarily concerned for her own life, she continued to feel a great deal of anxiety about John's safety. While she knew, she could easily kill Parker and the two men that followed him she was completely unsure if these actions would result in harm coming to John. And this was not a risk she was willing to take. Cameron found that she was relatively certain that once these men had disposed of her, they may indeed turn control back over to John. And in the end that was her sole purpose, to ensure John's safety no matter the cost. Even if it meant allowing herself to die at the hands of John's own soldiers, that was what she was willing to do. However, Cameron also found that a great sadness continued to grow within her, not for the loss of her own life; but for the fact that she believed, she would never again see John again. Cameron continued to walk slowly down the corridor. She was almost to the exit of the Serrano Point.

* * *

John glanced around the TDE control room, his mind racing as he tried to think of something, of anything that he could do to save Cameron's life. General Perry was about eight feet away from him and Nathan Freeman was standing in front of him with his plasma rifle still raised and pointed at Perry's chest. The other soldier standing in front of John was much younger. He too had his plasma rifle pointed at John's chest. John took a breath and searched his mind for the young soldier's name. He thought for a few moments before it finally came to him.

"It's Harris right?" John asked in a calm voice while he looked at the young male who could not have been older than 20.

"Ye…Yes sir." Harris responded obvious anxiety in his voice.

"I remember you." John stated, still in a calm voice as he fought to conceal all of the other emotions that were currently attempting to force their way through.

"You were there at Topanga Canyon weren't you?"

"Yes sir I was." Harris responded again.

"You were in the group that made it to the entrance of the Skynet base correct?" John asked, as he ever so slowly began to step closer to Harris who was only about five feet away from him.

"Yes sir." Harris responded again, the nervousness remained in his voice.

"You don't have to do this, it's wrong and you know it." John said, still maintaining his tranquil demeanor as he took another small step closer to Harris. At this point General Perry noticed John's movements towards the young soldier.

"We can't trust that thing sir." Harris responded. "Parker said they can snap at any moment." John took breath and paused for a moment seeing that the young male standing in front of him was truly experiencing conflicting emotions.

"Not her," John responded, "She's different. Cameron has saved all of our lives more than once." Harris dropped the barrel of his rifle slightly as he thought for a moment, slightly confused by the General's statement. John took this opportunity to take another step closer to Harris. However, Harris noticed this movement and quickly realized that John was now much closer to him than he had initially been. Harris quickly raised his riffle again pointing it back at John's chest,

"Get back sir!" He yelled with fear in his voice. John took a half step back away from Harris raising his hands in a "surrender" manner to show he had no weapons and was not intending to fight.

"Easy son…" John said still in a calm voice, "I'm not gonna hurt you." John then took a quarter of a step back towards Harris.

* * *

David Jennings walked in through the entrance of Serrano Point. Completely exhausted after a long patrol all that he wanted to do was sleep. He walked down the corridor of Serrano Point with his rifle slung across his chest. As he did so, he began to hear a slight commotion coming his way. He looked up to see Cameron walking towards him. Slightly confused for the moment, he soon realized what was going on after seeing Parker, Ramirez and Sergeant Lewis walking behind Cameron with their rifles pointed at her. While Jennings was not necessarily thrilled to learn of the revelation about Cameron, he also knew that she had saved many peoples lives, including John Connor's and his own on several occasions. David quickly stepped forward slightly blocking everyone's path.

"Parker what are you doing?!" David asked, in a slightly elevated voice.

"Out of our way Jennings…This doesn't concern you." Parker responded in a cold and angry voice. David did not move however,

"Think about this Parker. She's saved all our lives including Connor's. You can't do this."

"I'm doing this for all of us!" Parker yelled with anger still in his voice. His men remained behind him still with their rifles raised. Sergeant Lewis was now slowing beginning to point the barrel of his rifle at David.

"Who knows when she'll go bad." Parker added as he flicked his eyes over towards Cameron.

"Connor needs her help." David stated as he slowly began to bring his right hand up towards the grip of his rifle.

"No!! Connor needs to get his head in the game!" Parker barked. David continued to slowly move his hand up the side of his body towards his rifle's pistol grip.

"Sergeant Jennings…please step aside." Cameron stated in a monotone voice. For an unknown reason David found that there was a certain soothing quality to Cameron's voice even though it was devoid of any emotion. David surmised that this may have been one of the many things that Connor liked about her.

"If Parker's men do not hear back from him, they will kill John." Cameron continued. David shot his eyes from Cameron back over to Parker.

"What are you doing man?!" He shouted. "This is crazy!" David continued to stand in the group's way at the center of the corridor. Parker's voice lowered slightly,

"Last chance Jennings. Get out of our way." David hesitated for a moment not quite sure what to do. While he indeed new that Cameron was just a machine, he also knew that she was much more than that to Connor. He was relatively sure that if John Connor were to lose her there could very well be disastrous consequence for everyone. David's hand was to his hip now only inches from his rifle.

"I'm going to count to three Jennings, and then I'm going to kill you." Parker finally stated upon seeing that David still had not moved. "One…" Parker said, as David prepared to grab his rifle,

"Sergeant…" Cameron stated again in an emotionless voice, that David still found to be soothing at the same time, which continued to surprise him. David also realized that if he were going to do something, he was going to have to do it now.

"Two!" Parker shouted. David moved his hand towards his rifle's pistol grip. Suddenly, the sound of a rifle discharging echoed off the walls of the interior corridor. Everyone froze for a moment and there appeared to be no sound at all for a split second. Then there was a faint metallic clanking sound, as the spent shell casing from Sergeant Lewis's rifle impacted with the hard concrete floor. David Jennings slowly dropped to his knees. There was a momentary hesitation on his part where he looked into Cameron's eyes and she back into his. Cameron saw a half smile develop on his face as he looked at her and then he collapsed back over onto his side.

"What are you doing!?" Ramirez shout at Sergeant Lewis.

"He was going to try to stop us." Lewis responded with virtually no emotion in his voice.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Ramirez shouted. Lewis paused for a moment then looked over at Ramirez with hatred in his eyes.

"Keep talking and I'll do the same thing to you." Ramirez balked for a moment not quite sure what to do or say. It had never been his intention to let another soldier die. He only wanted Cameron out of the way so that General Connor would be able to better focus on the tasks at hand. However, things seemed to be spiraling out of control.

"Lets go." Parker stated in a flat voice as he motioned for Cameron to continue to walk forwards towards the exit that was now only about fifty feet away. Cameron began to walk forward glancing over at David's Jennings lifeless body as she passed by it.

* * *

"I'm not gonna do anything soldier, I just wanna talk to you." John said continuing his calm speech pattern, and keeping his hands raised slightly, to about his chest level.

"We're doing this for your own good sir." Harris commented.

"My own good?" John asked, taking another quarter of a step closer to Harris.

"Yes sir, we don't have a problem with you reprogramming endo's for battle; but she's different." John frowned slightly,

"I know she's different, that's why you can't do this." John said, still continuing to slowly inch his way closer to Harris.

"We have to sir, we're doing this to protect the resistance." John sighed a long heavy sigh,

"Last chance Harris…" He said, in a slightly sadder voice. Suddenly, Harris realized how much closer John Connor was standing to him. Instantly John moved his right hand across his body grabbing the barrel of the rifle and pushing it to his left. At this same time John twisted his upper body to the left and away from the barrel of the rifle. Harris squeezed the trigger of his rifle and a round discharged flying into the wall behind John.

Upon hearing the rifle discharge Freeman turned to see exactly what was going on behind him. In this moment of distraction, General Perry quickly moved towards him grabbing Freeman's rifle with both hands and pushing the barrel up towards the ceiling. Freeman depressed the trigger of his rifle and it fired wildly into the ceiling, raining sparks down onto the two men as both Freeman and General Perry struggled for the weapon.

Still holding onto the rifle with his right hand and with his body twisted away from the barrel of Harris's rifle, John quickly brought his left hand underneath his right and struck Harris in the throat with the section of his hand between his thumb and index finger. There was a pop as Harris's trachea cracked from the impact. John then brought his left hand back over to the stock of the rifle grabbing it firmly. In one swift motion, he stripped the rifle away from Harris who quickly moved both his hands to his throat due to the fact that he was now choking. John then swiftly brought the butt of the rifle back up striking Harris in the face and knocking him to the floor in immense pain. After doing this John turned his attention to General Perry who was still struggling to gain control of Freeman's rifle. Being that both men were so close to one other and moving around so much John realized that it would be far to risky to attempt to shoot Freeman. John shouldered the rifle he had just acquired and moved quickly across the room towards Perry and Freeman. As he did so, John bent down slightly drawing his bayonet from the sheath on his boot.

General Perry fought to gain control of Freeman's rifle as both individuals continued their struggle inside of the TDE control room. Suddenly, Perry saw a quick metallic flash as a knife blade buried itself into the side of Freeman's neck. There was a split second scream from Freeman before he fell to the ground gasping for breath as he began to choke on his own blood. The moment this occurred Perry observed John standing behind Freeman with a now bloody bayonet in his hand. Almost the second after this happened John sheathed his knife and turned, sprinting out of the room, leaving Perry alone with both individuals. Freeman was now dead and Harris was still lying on the ground across the room gasping for breath. Perry proceeded to walk over to Harris and stood over him for a moment before raising his rifle.

"I'm sorry..." Perry stated, and then squeezed the trigger of his rifle.

* * *

Cameron stepped out into the sunlight as she exited the interior of Serrano Point. As she did so, her hair was blown slightly back and away from her face due to the coastal wind that was now blowing through the area. She was followed closely by Parker, Sergeant Lewis and Ramirez.

The people who were working outside of Serrano Point instantly stopped what they were doing upon seeing Cameron being escorted out at gunpoint. Walking Cameron to the center of the large, flat, concrete tarmac Parker glanced around one more time seeing that he had quite a few people watching him now. There appeared to be great deal of uncertainty throughout the crowd as to exactly what they should do; however, no one attempted to stop the events that were playing out before them. This gave Parker even more confidence that what he was doing was right. He slowly lowered his rifle and turned to address the people.

* * *

"Out of my way!!" John yelled as he sprinted through a small crowd of soldiers located inside the darkened corridors of Serrano Point. Running a few yards behind him was General Perry. Several people stood in shock as they saw John run past them. Being that John had become so reclusive as of lately it was indeed a surprise to them to see the General running past them. Some knew exactly where he was running to, while others were slightly unsure. John's lungs burned with both anxiety and exhaustion as he continued to sprint his way towards the exit of Serrano Point. He indeed knew that he would not be able to forgive himself if anything were to happen to Cameron. Fear continued to grip John as he ran towards the exit.

* * *

"I want everyone here to know that I am NOT against John Connor." Parker stated in a loud and commanding voice as he looked around at the crowd that was forming around him.

"What I'm about to do, I do for the Generals own good. We have no idea how soon it will be before this machine turns on him or on us. We've seen it happen before and I know it is only a matter of time before it happens again. I understand that we need to reprogram certain machines for certain purposes. But, I do not believe that having a close relationship with them, like the one that General Connor has is appropriate. Nor is it safe for any of us." Parker paused for a moment. "I am doing this for the safety of the resistance." A few people around Parker nodded there head in agreement and a few "Yeahs!…" were heard. Parker then looked back over at Cameron and spoke in a quieter voice to her,

"This is nothing personal against you or John." He stated.

"Everything is personal with John." Cameron retorted in a cold tone. Parker looked at her slightly confused by this statement; but then glanced back over at Sergeant Lewis who was standing behind her with his rifle still raised.

"Kill it." Parker said to Lewis. Cameron closed her eyes and allowed images of John to play out in her memory. She then heard a rifle discharge.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so I hope everyone enjoyed the idea of how Wells was sent back and why he was shot when he arrived (This was from the opening of "Automatic For The People" if anyone forgot). And I hope my explanation of time travel also made sense. I'm basing this on a theory that we can have both alternate timelines and alternate futures. So while some people need to be sent back multiple times, others will only be sent back once and never again. I also hope everyone picked up on the carry over from T2 (when Cameron was saying her "goodbyes"). Anyways hope everyone enjoyed it. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	62. Chapter 62

Author's Notes: Okay so I'm going to put a link towards the end of this chapter (last paragraph actually) to a music selection I think goes PERFECTLY with what happens. Just follow the link if you so desire.

* * *

CHAPTER 62

Cameron's eyes remained closed as images of John continued to rapidly play through her memory. In the mere seconds that she had left, Cameron attempted to view as many memories of John as she could. She found that each one managed to cause its own unique emotional response as it was processed.

"Kill it." Cameron heard Parker say in a disgusted tone. While she had been certain since the day of her activation that there would come a point in time when her existence would indeed come to an end, Cameron found that she was able to garner a certain sense of comfort due to the fact that she believed her death may indeed help to preserve John's life, and possible assist in bringing the resistance back together. Nevertheless, Cameron felt an overwhelming sense of sadness flood over her upon the realization that she would never again see John. She then heard the plasma rifle discharge.

* * *

The tarmac outside of Serrano Point was dead silent. That particular moment in time had almost seemed to freeze once the rifle blast had been heard. Everyone appeared to be frozen, to terrified to move, or even breathe as they all stood quietly waiting for something to happen. While the group that had gathered around Parker and his men vastly outnumbered them, no one did anything to stop the course of events that had played out before their eyes. While most people did not necessarily agree with Parker or his methods, they were also not quite sure how they felt about Cameron as well. And no one seemed to know exactly what to do in that particular moment. The silence dragged on for what seemed to be an eternity, and then it was finally broken. Sergeant Lewis dropped to his knees with a thud. Upon hearing this, Cameron turned quickly to look at him. The moment she did so, she observed a large bloodstain beginning to form on the Sergeant's chest. He looked up at Cameron with both a look of shock and hatred on his face. He then slowly fell over onto his side dead.

* * *

After hearing the rifle discharge, Jonathan Parker immediately spun around towards the direction that he had heard the shot come from. The instant he did so, he felt both fear and anger sweep over him. Standing just outside the exit door of Serrano Point with his rifle still raised and a spent shell casing at his feet was John Connor. The anger continued to course through Parker, as he stood motionless for the time being. The realization that Connor was willing to kill one of his own soldiers to save a machine was almost beyond comprehension and was nearly to much for Parker to stand. The fury within him continued to grown at an exponential rate.

* * *

John took measured heavy breaths, trying to slow his respiration and heart rate after his marathon sprint from deep within the interior of Serrano Point. He watched as Sergeant Lewis dropped to his knees. There was a momentary pause after this occurred where Lewis did not immediately move. John found himself beginning to squeeze the trigger to his rifle a second time in order to assure that Lewis was indeed dead. However, before John had time to complete this act, he saw Lewis fall over onto his side. For a brief moment the immediate threat to Cameron had been neutralized. John then shifted his attention to Jonathan Parker who was standing a few feet to Cameron's right. John took a slight step forwards still focusing primarily on the front site of his rifle, which was now aimed at Parker. John felt the anger and rage flooding over him upon looking at Parker and he fought the nearly uncontrollable urge to execute him immediately for what he had tried to do. However, before the internal conflict within John could be resolved he watched as if almost in slow motion, Parker began to raise his rifle towards him. Out of John's peripheral vision he saw Cameron instantly begin to shift to her right towards Parker in order to stop him; but before Cameron was able to gain any ground on Parker, John squeezed the trigger on his rifle a second time and heard it discharge. He felt the immediately recoil from the rifle travel through his shoulder as his plasma round streaked across the concrete tarmac towards John's intended target. Before Parker could even bring his rifle past his waist level he heard and felt a loud crack reverberate throughout his body and felt his head jerk back instantly. Then everything went dark.

* * *

Jose Ramirez watched as Jonathan Parker's head jerked back and nearly exploded from the impact of the plasma round. Blood burst out of the back of Park's head as the plasma round tore through his skull and made its exit wound. Almost instantly Jonathan Parker's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap. Ramirez looked over to see John Connor now bring the rifle to bear on him. Connor walked slowly forwards towards Ramirez.

"Put the weapon down!" John shouted as he slowly made his way closer to Ramirez who stood perfectly still, almost in a state of shock. He found that he was not exactly sure of what he should do or think at this point. Ramirez had found that Connor's reaction had not so much surprised him as much as Cameron's reaction had. She had reacted twice today to save Connor's life. The first time was when they had come to take her away from John Connor and the second was just a few moments ago. Upon his initial encounter with her, Ramirez had half way expected Cameron to fight in order to preserve her own life. Surprisingly however, Jose had seen Cameron willingly turn herself over to Parker and his men in order to save Connor's life. Now just seconds before, Ramirez had stood witness again as Cameron had attempted to stop Parker from killing John.

A horrible realization finally began to slip over Jose. He had been wrong about everything, and not just with Cameron; but with Parker and the entire rebellion. Ramirez had stood by while Parker had killed another soldier who was just trying to help resolve the situation, and then just moments earlier as Parker had attempted to kill John Connor, the very man they were "trying" to help by doing all this. While Ramirez did not necessarily agree with the way the situation surrounding Cameron had been dealt with, he now realized that Cameron truly did have John's best intentions at heart. Ramirez found it strange that one particular thought suddenly streaked through his mind.

"Is it possible for that machine to really care about him?" He asked himself almost chuckling slightly. Ramirez felt the regret and self hatred for what he had done continued to grow within him, and he now realized that there was only one thing for him to do.

* * *

John slowly walked towards Jose Ramirez keeping his rifle raised,

"Put the weapon down!" he shouted. At about this same time John heard General Perry come running up alongside him. He too had his rifle raised and pointed at Ramirez. John and Perry slowly moved forward towards Ramirez still keeping their rifles at the ready. At this same moment John quickly flicked his eyes over towards Cameron making sure that she was still not in any immediate danger. He watched as Cameron slowly began to move towards Ramirez as well. John flicked his eyes between the two trying to ascertain what his next course of action should be. However, before John was able to decide he saw Ramirez's rifle begin to move. But, Ramirez did not point the plasma rifle towards John, Perry, or even Cameron; Ramirez instead brought the muzzle of the rifle underneath his own jaw. John increased his speed towards Ramirez.

"NO!" he called out; but it was to late. An instant later John heard another shot ring out and Ramirez's body came crashing to the ground.

* * *

Serrano Point's tarmac once again became deathly silent. Three bodies lay on the ground, pools of blood collecting around each of them. John scanned the area with his eyes one more time and finally began to feel that it was somewhat secure for the moment. He then slowly began to lower his rifle and after doing so he immediately moved quickly over to Cameron. Upon reaching her, John felt the almost overwhelming desire to take Cameron into his arms and to hold her, and to never let go of her. It took every bit of strength that John had not to do this. The pair continued to stand silently staring into one others eyes for several seconds, not moving at all. Finally, John managed to break the silence,

"You…okay?" he asked quietly and with a great deal of concern in his voice.

"Yes…" Cameron responded quietly, "Are you?" She asked, her brown eyes gazing deep into John's soul.

"I am now…" He responded his voice's pitch wavering slightly as he fought back his emotions. There was another few seconds of silence between John and Cameron where everyone else standing out on the tarmac still appeared to be afraid to speak or even move. John then turned away from Cameron towards the crowd that was standing around them.

"This is EXACTLY what Skynet wants!!" He shouted. "Why does it even need to try to kill us, if we are willing to turn on one another and do the job for it!!" John paused for a split second glancing back at Cameron before he continued to speak. His voice was determined and filled with anger, frustration, and courage.

"How many times has SHE saved us?!!" He shouted as he point back at Cameron and continued to stare out into the group, a look of power in his eyes.

"How many times has SHE saved this resistance!!" John's look of determination towards the group was unrelenting. He did his best to try and make eye contact with as many people as he could.

"Without her, I would not be here. And without her NONE of us would have survived this long!!!" There continued to be both anger and passion behind John's voice as he spoke.

"If you're against her…You're against me!" John said as he continued to look out into the crowd. After he finished his statement there was dead silence once again. Everyone continued to remain perfectly still, to frightened to speak or move. John maintained his determined gaze out into the crowd, his look was that of a lion staring down a potential threat. He continued to prepare himself for a possible fight that may come at any moment. The silence continued on for another several seconds before John finally began to feel that no one else was preparing to challenge him. He once again looked over his shoulder at Cameron.

"Come with me." He said in a much more calm and soothing voice than the one he had just been speaking in. As John, Cameron and General Perry began to walk back towards the entrance of Serrano Point the crowd parted like water in front of them. The area remained dead silent as the trio made their way back inside the base. No one dared say or do anything.

* * *

John gradually sat down on his bed, nearly white as a sheet. He felt his strength draining out of him as he did so. John slowly made tight fists with his hands in an attempt to stop them from shaking. He stared down at the ground almost completely lost in thought. The emotional impact of coming so close to both losing Cameron and the resistance in general was almost to much for him to bear. Still trying to fight back, hide, and control his emotions John continued to sit quietly on his bed.

"John…" The soothing voice of Cameron pulled him back slightly and he looked up to see her standing in front of him. "Are you alright?" She asked. Even though her voice did not display an outpouring of emotions when she spoke, it was still readily apparent to John that hidden behind it all was a great deal of concern for him. John closed his eyes slowly still fighting for control of his feelings,

"I almost lost you." he stated in a quiet voice and then dropped his head back down towards the ground. "I think I'm losing control of everything." John continued the fear is his voice beginning to break through. Cameron hesitated for a moment and then knelt down in front of John. As she did so she cupped her hands around the sides of his face, lifting his head back up so that John would look at her.

"But you did not lose me…And you're not losing control of your men. If you were, there would have been a very different outcome to today's events." John stared into Cameron's eyes. He yet again felt that he could lose himself in her brown irises, and John desperately wanted to do so. He was so tired of fighting, so tired of the struggle, so tired of everything that he just wanted to lose himself completely in Cameron. As he stared into her eyes Cameron slowly slid her hands from his face and rapped her arms around him pulling John into a hug. When she did this, John sighed and gently rested his head up against the side of Cameron's head. The two remained there holding each other for quite some time.

* * *

John lay naked in bed on his left side, asleep, his back was to the door. Cameron lay next to him completely nude with her arms wrapped around his bear chest; her body was also slightly curled around John's body shielding it to some degree. While Cameron would have been more than willing to stand guard over John all night, he had yet again requested that she be in bed with him. Cameron found that there seemed to be a certain calm that came over John when she lay next to him. As if all the stress of his life seemed subside, if only for just a brief moment. While Cameron did not completely understand why this occurred, she did experience what could only be described as thankfulness that she was able to do this.

Also, due to all the time that Cameron had spent in bed with John she had discovered something quite unexplainable about herself as well. As she lay next to John listening to him breathe, she found that a soothing sensation would always pull itself over her as she listened to his rhythmic respiration. Cameron could not readily describe why this occurred; but she did find that it was a pleasurable experience nonetheless. Cameron had not immediately discovered this sensation the first time she had slept with John, it had been more of a gradual discovery on her part. Cameron found that yet again she had discovered something completely unique about herself all because of John. As she continued to lay next to him listening to John breath an ever so slight smile danced across her face. Suddenly, there was a sound that broke the silence of the room. Cameron heard a clank as the bulkhead door at the front of John's quarters began to open. Anticipating the worst Cameron instantly leapt from the bed still naked. John had hung his gun belt with his side arm on one of the bed posts and Cameron quickly pulled the handgun from its holster and brought it to bear on the individual that was beginning to emerge from the door at the front of John's room.

* * *

While the noise of his door opening had not immediately woken John the moment Cameron had let go of him, his eyes had immediately shot open. However, before he was able to react Cameron had already done so. John quickly turned away from the wall that his bed was located next to only to see Cameron standing naked in the near center of his room with his gun pointed at the person emerging from the dimly lit doorway.

* * *

music suggestion: w w w . y o u t u b e .com/watch?v=kpFUal9aWJA&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=30

Cameron slowly began to squeeze the trigger of the handgun. Even in the darkened room she was still able to see perfect. However, a split second before the gun discharged she released her finger from the trigger. Cameron tilted her head to the side slightly, almost as if confused for a brief moment. She then lowered the gun that was in her hand.

John observed Cameron's reaction and while he was somewhat surprised by it, he was not worried due to his trust in Cameron. John then turned his attention to the individual standing in the doorway. While John's room was not completely dark the light was dim enough to make an immediate facial recognition slightly more difficult for a human.

The person standing in the doorway stepped forward slightly, allowing her bright reddish orange hair and very fair-skinned face to be illuminated better by the ambient light that was in John's quarters. John stared at the individual for a moment with a look of confusion about his face. While there was an air of familiarity about this person, John was not immediately able to recognize who it was. After a few moments John's eyes widened slightly with surprise and his mouth nearly dropped open.

"Savannah…" He said with shock in his voice. Savannah Weaver took another step forward.

"Yes John, it is me." she said, the Scottish accent of her mother still somewhat apparent in her own voice. Still slightly confused John spoke again.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm here with a message." Savannah stated a certain lack of emotion in her tone. John crinkled his forehead in confusion, as Cameron also tilted her head to the side once again. Savannah gave John a slight almost seductive smile before taking another step closer to him. When she did this Cameron immediately stepped in-between she and John, slightly blocking Savannah's path to him. Savannah stopped, she then proceeded to slowly look down and then back up at Cameron's naked body, a cunning look on her face as she did so. Savannah raised her right eyebrow slightly with a certain look of intrigue on her face, she then looked into Cameron's eyes,

"It appears what they told me about you is true." She said in an almost arrogant tone. Both Savannah's reaction to Cameron stepping in-between she and John and her comment towards her confused Cameron slightly. After another split second Savannah once again looked away from Cameron and back over to John. She gave him another sly smile and spoke,

"John Henry would like to speak with you."

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay so I hope everyone liked how John handled the rebellion that had broken out and now I REALLY hope every is intrigued to find that Savannah Weaver is back. I think MANY of you will really like where I take her and several other characters as this story continues to progress. Also, seeing as how we're about to break into the last 13 (or so) chapters I created one last fan fic trailer. I tried to do my best to show where we've been (in the series and book) and where we will be headed. Here's a link:

w w w . y o u t u b e .com/watch?v=xUlXrRE2-f0

Reivew! Review!


	63. Chapter 63

Authors Notes: Okay so I still feel that "By Your Command" is a perfect theme song for Savannah Weaver. Here's another link:

w w w . y o u t u b e . com/watch?v=kpFUal9aWJA&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=30

* * *

CHAPTER 63

Savannah Weaver shifted her weight slightly from her center over to her right hip as she looked at John with her icy greenish blue eyes. Cameron continued to stare Savannah down as she stood in front of both she and John. Savannah wore black boots that rose to her mid calf, tight dark grey BDU pants, and a dark green tank top that slightly exposed her mid drift. A black belt was looped through her pants with a holster attached to it containing a Smith and Wesson M&P 45. The holster itself hung low and was affixed to her right thigh. On Savannah's left hip were a few magazine pouches and hanging slightly farther back from those was a canteen that hung from her belt as well. Overtop of the tank top she wore a faded black BDU jacket and had the sleeves rolled up to her mid forearm. Savannah also had her shoulder length red hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. John sat stunned for a moment. The beautiful young female in her mid twenties with a hardened battle look was indeed an extreme departure from the little girl he had once known. Yet, John found that Savannah still managed to display many soft features as well.

Savannah glanced over at Cameron and then back at John,

"Get dressed, we have much to do." When Savannah spoke her voice still hinted at Catherine Weavers Scottish decent. Cameron looked back over at John who nodded his head at her trying to reassure Cameron that he did not believe that Savannah was currently a threat to either of them. Cameron stepped back over to John's bed and reholstered the gun that she had in her hand. She then retrieved her clothing that was hung over a chair located next to a desk inside the room.

John also retrieved a pair of pants that were at the foot of his bed. He hesitated for a brief moment due to the fact that he was still naked; however seeing as how Savannah did not seem to care at all about both he Cameron's lack of clothing; nor did it appear that she was willing to turn away he proceeded to dress himself. Numerous questions continued to flood through John's mind as he did so. Finally, one broke through shortly after John had pulled a shirt on over his head.

"Where have you been?" John asked. Savannah slightly tilted her head to one side, instantly reminding John of Cameron's similar attribute.

"I have been with John Henry." Savannah responded, a certain off handed obviousness in the tone of her voice.

"Where has John Henry been?" John asked as he stood, and took a slight step closer to Savannah. Cameron was at John's side by this point.

"He has been with me." Savannah stated still with a certain smugness in her tone. "I realize you have many questions; but John Henry really should be the one to answer all of them." Savannah paused for a brief second and then continued. "He would like to speak with you as soon as possible."

"John can't leave Serrano…It's too dangerous." Cameron instantly stated, before John could respond. Savannah quickly snapped her head over to look at Cameron.

"John Henry suspected that this may be the case, which is why he is also prepared to speak with you." Savannah slightly nodded her head forward towards Cameron when she said this. John instantly felt his heart rate jump slightly upon hearing this.

"I can arrange to have John Henry brought here." John stated.

"It is a bit more complicated than that." Savannah responded, "He is currently…not alone." There was now a certain lack of emotion in Savannah's voice when she spoke; it became readily apparent to John that she had indeed spent many years being raised by a machine.

"Not alone?" John responded. Savannah exhaled slightly,

"This is a very sensitive issue and I believe it would be best if handled in person." Savannah looked over at Cameron. "We should leave as soon as possible."

"Where is John Henry?" John asked a certain determination in his voice signaling he was not about to let Cameron go somewhere if he was not sure of exactly where it was or how safe she would be.

"He is located on an oil platform approximately 183 miles from here." Cameron cocked her head to the side realizing instantly that this was more than likely the exact same oil platform that she had, had her original meeting with the original T-1001 on. However, still suspicious Cameron spoke,

"How did you get here?" Savannah raised her right eyebrow slightly, a certain arrogant yet provocative look on her face,

"John Henry was able to provide me with the necessary information to make it in this far." Cameron's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, she found that her chip pushed slight sensations of aggravation over her due to Savannah's arrogant demeanor.

"How does John Henry know about our defense grid?" John asked a minor hint of concern in his voice. Savannah looked back over at John and gave him another smile that appeared to be both sly and sexual at the same time,

"You forget that Catherine Weaver once owned this facility, John Henry is well versed in the inner workings of this establishment." While John was certain that John Henry was not a threat, he still found this explanation to be somewhat unnerving.

"But, how did you get here?" Cameron asked once again. Savannah looked back over at Cameron,

"John Henry has access to many resources. It was relatively easy for him to procure a vehicle for me to make the journey here. However, I have been at Serrano for a short while now." Savannah then turned and looked back over at John. "I was highly impressed with how you handled you're…" She hesitated for a moment "…situation, in regards to your friend here." She then glanced back over at Cameron. After another momentary hesitation she looked back at John giving him a slight smirk. Cameron found that these actions seemed to disturb her to some extent; but, she continued to remain silent for the time being.

"After you handled that particular circumstance I felt the time was right to speak with you." John looked at Savannah extremely confused and prepared to ask another question; but was cut off by her.

"Nevertheless, since you and Cameron have access to helicopters I believe that would help to expedite our trip back to speak with John Henry." Cameron continued to stare at Savannah. She found it strange that a certain uneasiness came over her about Savannah. However, Cameron was quite unsure as to why this particularly unsettling emotion had broken through. The closest comparable experience that Cameron could compare it against was when John had begun to see Riley. Jealousy had never been a particularly pleasurable experience for Cameron; but it appeared that this particular emotion had once again begun to creep its way back into Cameron's existence.

"Shall we go?" Savannah asked, still a certain obviousness in her tone as she looked over Cameron and spoke. The uneasiness once again pulled itself over John. While he attempted to hide his concern from Cameron, she instantly noticed the change in his demeanor. She took a step closer to Savannah; passing by John at the same time; as she did this Cameron gently brushed her hand up against John's in an attempt to reassure him.

"Yes." she said, an ever so slight hint of sadness in her voice when she spoke. While Cameron hated to be separated from John, she also knew that John Henry would be an invaluable asset to both John and the resistance. Savannah turned slightly, and as she did she held her hand out in front of her signaling for John and Cameron to lead the way, which they did. Savannah followed close behind them as the trio walked out of John's quarters.

* * *

The thudding blades of several helicopter rotors continued to echo across the tarmac of Serrano Point. Savannah Weaver walked slowly across the dimly lit concrete towards a Blackhawk Helicopter that sat idling between two Apache Gunships. Her faded black BDU jacket, which was currently unbuttoned, flapped in the wind along with her ponytail, as she continued to walk closer to the helicopter.

Lieutenant Matthew Spears stood with his arms crossed and slightly leaning up against the cockpit of the Blackhawk as Savannah approached. Due to the darkened night sky, he did not immediately get a good look at her until she was relatively close to him. Upon seeing her Spear's jaw, nearly dropped open and he immediately pushed himself away from the helicopter attempting to straighten out his body as she approached. Matthew instantly found that Savannah was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. As Savannah walked past him, Spears attempted to subtly follow her with his eyes; but Savannah instantly noticed this. However, his actions did not concern her at all, Savannah knew that she had much more important things to think about, than a random soldier checking her out. She gave Spears a quick glance over her shoulder as she walked past him signaling that she had indeed caught him looking at her. She then proceeded to climb into the passenger compartment of the Blackhawk, still allowing Spears to enjoy the view.

* * *

John walked with Cameron towards the Blackhawk, the chopping sound of the helicopter blades reverberating throughout his body. Cameron's hair whipped about in the wind as they walked. However, before they reached the helicopter John suddenly stopped. When he did this Cameron stopped as well. She turned and looked at him with a curious look on her face.

"Be careful." John said in a slightly quiet voice; but still one that could be heard over the noise of the helicopters. However, if Cameron had not been who she was, she may not have actually been able to distinguish John's words due to the noise and his hoarse voice as he fought desperately to hold back his emotions. Cameron stared into John's eyes knowing that this would be the first time they had been separated for any extended length of time since Century Work Camp,

"I will..." She responded, with certain soothing yet unmistakably sad tone in her voice. The pair stared at each other for another moment. Cameron fought the urge not to leave John; but knowing the importance of this mission she knew she would have to. Cameron slowly turned and began to head back in the direction of the Blackhawk still followed by John. Upon reaching it, she slowly climbed into the passenger compartment. As Cameron did this John walked over to Spears who was still standing outside of the helicopter.

"Take care of her…" His speech balked for a moment, "…of both of them." John said as he looked at Spears.

"I will sir." Spears responded. John nodded and Lieutenant Spears turned away from him and proceeded to climb into the cockpit of the helicopter. John took a few steps back away from the Blackhawk as he heard the engines begin to roar to life and the wind grew more intense around him. John looked through the window located on the side door of the helicopter to see Cameron still staring back at him. John found himself continuing to look into her eyes as the Blackhawk slowly began to lift off the ground. The pair kept eye contact for as long as possible until finally the helicopter's fuselage turned and the pair lost sight of one another. As soon as the Blackhawk had cleared the tarmac the two remaining Apache's also began to lift off, following after the Blackhawk Helicopter. John watched as the helicopters flew off into the distance, as this was occurring many troubling emotions began to sweep over him. The greatest of which was a fear that Cameron may never return. This horrifying thought was almost too much for John to bear and he pushed it to the back of his mind trying desperately to bury such premonitions. John stood out on the tarmac until he could no longer see the helicopters in the dark sky. He then waited until he could no longer hear them. Once out of earshot John continued to stand silently on the helipad. He felt almost afraid to move, afraid that if he did something may indeed happen to Cameron. Finally, after several minutes he turned and slowly walked back into Serrano Point. Many distressing emotions still sweeping over him as he did so.

* * *

Cameron sat motionless inside the passenger compartment of the Blackhawk Helicopter as it flew across the Pacific Ocean. The night sky was just beginning to give way to the morning sunrise and as it did so, the sunlight slowly began to illuminate the interior of the helicopter with its orangey glow. Across from Cameron sat Savannah who was almost as motionless as she was. Savannah sat with her head resting slightly up against the wall of the helicopter that her seat was attached to and she stared out the window watching the ocean go by. Since Savannah's initial appearance Cameron had found her presence to be slightly unsettling; but not due to her threat level to John. While Cameron knew that Savannah was, by what humans standards would consider very beautiful, this was also not the reason for her apprehension.

One of the first observation that Cameron had made about Savannah was that she did not seem concerned at all with the fact that Cameron was a machine. While it appeared that nearly every human, outside of John of course, became slightly uneasy or at times downright nervous around cyborgs, this information seemed to be almost trivial to Savannah. Cameron credited this attribute to the fact that Savannah had been raised by machines for most of her life. Nevertheless, Cameron still found that there was more to it than just this. One thing in particular that seemed to find its way into Cameron's thought process was that Savannah had been a part of John's life relatively early on. Yes, John had been 16 by the time he had met Savannah; but that was still relatively young compared to what his life expectancy could be; yet, there appeared to still be something more than this.

Savannah was possibly the only one outside of Cameron herself that could truly understand where John had come from and what he was currently going through. Even if Alison Young were still present, she would not have been able to completely understand John as well as Savannah could. Due to all the experiences, that Savannah would have had, Cameron came to a disturbing hypothesis that Savannah may actually be able to "replace" her in several important aspects. This theory produced a very unsettling sensation within Cameron; one that she had never felt quite as strong before, not even with Riley. Cameron began to become aware of that fact that she believed she may indeed become "obsolete" or "useless". This particular sensation continued to be deeper and more profound than ever before. While Cameron had viewed Riley as a threat and even though John had still chosen to be with her, Cameron was readily aware of the fact that Riley would never have actually been able to replace her in several key features; however many of these aspects now seemed possibly with Savannah. Another hypothesis that Cameron suddenly became aware of was that she was unsure if Savannah would actually attempt to garner John's affection. This was indeed an unsettling sensation to Cameron who tilted her head to the side slightly as she continued to study Savannah pondering all these things. Just then, Savannah slowly turned her head and looked at Cameron,

"You wanna take a picture?" Cameron was highly confused by this response.

"Why would I want to take a picture?" She asked.

"Because you've been staring at me for the last 45 minutes." Savannah retorted, a certain mechanical smugness in her tone.

"Oh." Cameron responded, "Thank you for explaining." Savannah then gave Cameron a small but consolatory smile, almost as if she was amused by her response. Cameron continued her inquisitor gaze then spoke,

"What did they tell you about me?" she asked. Savannah's smile grew slightly larger into a smirk of sorts. She continued to look at Cameron as she spoke,

"They told me you were very…unique." Savannah then hesitated for another moment as she thought. "The obvious was that you are a beautiful cyborg; but I was also told that you are willing to do ANYTHING to protect John. Even if it means sacrificing yourself." Cameron continued to look at Savannah,

"I am willing to do that, yes." She responded, however Cameron was also slightly confused by Savannah's statement. She vividly remembered meeting Savannah many years ago, and to hear her talk in this way slightly perplexed to her. Savannah instantly noticed this,

"I was a child the last time I saw you…I knew there was something different about you; but I wasn't sure if you were a machine or not." Savannah then smiled,

"Which I guess is a credit to your infiltration skills." A slight smirk danced across Cameron's face when Savannah made this statement. "But we all felt it was necessary for me to learn a bit more about you before our encounter." Savannah continued.

"Who is "We"?" Cameron asked. Savannah shifted her weight slightly in her seat and smiled again.

"Besides John Henry you mean?" She asked.

"Yes…" Cameron responded. Savannah raised her eyebrows slightly and maintained her smirk.

"You'll see…" While Savannah was not being overtly arrogant towards her, and may have had very understandable reasons for her reactions, Cameron still found the game of cat and mouse they appeared to be playing with each other to be somewhat agitating.

"Five minutes ladies…" The voice of Lieutenant Spears was heard saying over the loudspeaker inside of the helicopter. Both Cameron and Savannah continued to stare at each other for another few minutes. Then out of the corner of Savannah's eye, she saw the oil platform coming into view through the window of the Blackhawk. She turned her head away from Cameron and once again began to stare out of the window.

* * *

The Blackhawk Helicopter and its two escort Apaches slowly circled around the two enormous joined oil platforms, in order to check for possible threats. Both Cameron and Savannah continued to stare out the window as the helicopters did this. The two platforms themselves were massive, and had large metal drilling towers rising from them. Their large structures were supported by steal girders and a massive cylindrical concrete pillar was located in the center of both platforms that extended down into the ocean. Both platforms were also separated by about a quarter mile covered walkway. As the Blackhawk continued to circle, Cameron pulled images from her memory banks of her first experience on this oil platform. She remembered that it had not necessarily been a "pleasurable" situation for her.

* * *

After making, one more pass Lieutenant Spears gracefully piloted the Blackhawk to one of the landing pads located on the oil platform. There was a very slight jolt as the landing gear touched down onto the helipad. A few seconds after this he turned and looked back into the passenger compartment of the Blackhawk.

"We're good…" He said, inadvertently making eye contact with Savannah and then immediately flicking his eyes away from her, slightly embarrassed that he had once again been caught looking at her.

Savannah unbuckled her safety belt and stood, as she did so she looked over at Cameron,

"Come with me." She said with a certain lack of emotion in her voice as she pulled open the door of the Blackhawk. Cameron unbuckled her seat belt as well and followed Savannah out of the helicopter. When Cameron exited the aircraft, she was immediately met by a gust of wind both from the helicopter blades, which were still winding down and the ocean breeze. Both of which made her hair and the jacket she was wearing immediately blown back and away from her body. Cameron then proceeded to follow Savannah across the helipad to a bulkhead door. When Savannah reached it, she slowly spun the wheel in the center of the door and then pulled it open for Cameron. She then gave Cameron a sly smile and motioned with her hand for Cameron to walk through the door.

"I was told you would know the way." Savannah said with an eerier confidence in her voice. Indeed Cameron knew exactly where to go to. She walked pasted Savannah and through the doorway.

* * *

Cameron made her way through the winding corridors recalling from her memory exactly where to go to. Eventually she and Savannah made their way into a large room that appeared to be used for mechanical repair. The area itself opened up into a large bay with several work stations positioned around the room. There were parts to the oil platform scattered about and a few florescent lights lit the room. Cameron instantly recalled that the last time she had been here the lighting had been much brighter. Cameron continued to walk further into the room looking around as she did so. Savannah however, remained at the doorway to the room and allowed Cameron to walk further away from her. Savannah watched as Cameron began to somewhat fade into the shadows of the room as she proceeded on.

Cameron continued to walk into the dimly lit room still scanning the area for threats. Suddenly, the silence inside the room was broken,

"Hello Cameron…It is good to see you again." Cameron instantly recognized the voice and turned her head to where she had heard the sound come from. John Henry emerged from behind a workstation and began to walk towards Cameron.

"How are you today?" He asked still in his slightly childish tone.

"I am well…How are you?" Cameron responded.

"I am well. How is Mr. Connor?" John Henry asked, Cameron noticed an ever so slight hint of concern in John Henry's voice as he spoke about John.

"Given the situation and pressure he is under, he is doing quite well." Cameron responded.

"That is entirely understandable. I am glad you could come here to meet with me." So far Cameron noticed that this encounter was proving to be a much more pleasant experience than her last visit to this particular oil platform. Cameron was just about to speak again when she suddenly heard a noise behind her. She spun around instantly to see what was there. Slowly rising out of the floor Cameron watched as a silver figure began to take form. She took a slight step back away from it, both for safety and due to the fact that Cameron was slightly confused by what she was currently witnessing. The silver liquid rose off the floor and slowly began to take form. However, the T-1001 did not take the form of Cameron or Alison this time; instead, it took the form of Catherine Weaver. Both Cameron and the T-1001 stood silently looking at each other for several seconds. The room itself grew deathly silent as both Terminators continued to stare each other down. Finally, the liquid metal Terminator spoke,

"I know you." It said in an icy tone, Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side,

"And I know you." She responded.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so hopefully everyone likes how I'm portraying Savannah Weaver. She was REALLY interesting to write for and I like what I have planned for in the future. Also, I think Catherine Weaver will become quite an interesting character as well. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	64. Chapter 64

CHAPTER 64

Cameron stood silently before the T-1001 not exactly sure for a moment of what she do or say. She found herself slightly perplexed as to how this particular Terminator was able to so precisely duplicate the form of the human Catherine Weaver without ever actually having touched her. However, Cameron surmised that John Henry had been able to provide the T-1001 with such technical detail on the physical appearance of the actual Catherine Weaver that it had been able to perfectly mimic her form.

Cameron also took note of the fact that the liquid metal Terminator had managed to perfectly match one of Catherine Weaver's outfits. It wore a bright white knee length dress with short sleeves and white high heels. Cameron continued to stand perfectly still in front of the T-1001 as it studied her with its ice cold blue eyes. After several seconds, the liquid metal Terminator began to slowly walk in a circle around Cameron, still staring at her. The clicking sound of its high heels coming into contact with the metal floor could be heard echoing off the walls inside the large room. As it did this Cameron looked over her shoulder at John Henry, who stood several feet behind her also perfectly still. When Cameron did this, she anticipated that John Henry would give her some sort of visual declaration that he was still indeed in control of the situation, and the liquid metal Terminator in particular. However, John Henry did not give Cameron any such reassurance. A slight sensation of uneasiness came over Cameron upon seeing John Henry's blank stare. Cameron knew that, there had been a T-1001 that looked exactly like this one in the past and alternate future. She also knew that particular Terminator had been quite helpful to she and John. However, Cameron was also readily aware that she had no knowledge at all about this particular T-1001, and this made her very wary of these circumstances.

Finally, after making one full revolution around Cameron the T-1001 spoke,

"This is one of the flawed units." Its tone was cold and emotionless. The instant the words left its mouth Cameron locked eyes with the liquid metal Terminator and gave it a slightly confused look. However, she already knew that the T-1001 was not speaking to her; but to John Henry. Cameron once again glanced over her should at John Henry who just nodded his head at both individuals. At this point Cameron was becoming quite perplexed and looked back at the T-1001. A slightly awkward sensation now began to creep up over Cameron upon seeing the liquid metal Terminator continue to stare at her. Cameron spoke,

"Flawed unit?" She asked with a blank tone. "I don't understand." The T-1001 gave Cameron and extremely arrogant smirk. However there was more behind the smile than just arrogance, there was also a look of slight disgust on the liquid metal Terminator's face. Due to the lack of information the T-1001 was giving Cameron, she found that she remained in her highly confused state about this particular statement; but she also found that it greatly concerned her. Cameron was completely unsure as to what the reference to her being a flawed unit actually meant. Was it a reference to her past or something else entirely?

Cameron continued to sense her anxiety levels rising as she stood in front of the liquid metal Terminator. She had never been fully comfortable around the original T-1001 and this one appeared to be even more malevolent. Nonetheless, Cameron was also readily aware that John and the resistance would greatly benefit from both John Henry's and the liquid metal Terminator's help, so Cameron pushed aside her confusion and anxiety for the time being.

"No matter." The T-1001 said blankly, interrupting Cameron's train of thought. "To dispense with the pleasantries, I am well aware that YOU are known as Cameron." The liquid metal Terminator paused for a moment, still an ever so slight look of revulsion on its face, it then spoke again,

"And to make things simpler for everyone you may refer to me as Catherine Weaver." Cameron nodded her head slightly,

"That is acceptable." the moment the words left Cameron's mouth, Catherine Weaver instantly took a step closer to her. As she did this Cameron felt her anxiety levels increase. If it were possible, the room itself appeared to take on a darker aura now that Catherine Weaver was closer to her. The T-1001 continued to stare into Cameron's eyes, still studying her.

"I understand that you serve John Connor?" Catherine asked. Cameron hesitated for a moment, she found that she still did not appreciate the wording of that particular question; but Cameron still knew that she must answer it.

"I assist John in whatever way I can." she responded, no emotion in her voice. Catherine quickly took another step closer to Cameron closing the distance between them to mere inches. This action only increased Cameron's uneasiness; but she stood her ground and did not move.

"What are your mission parameters?" Catherine asked as she stared into Cameron's eyes. Cameron tilted her head to the side,

"My mission parameters?" She asked, not entirely sure what Catherine was asking.

"That is correct. What is your base programming? Did John Connor reprogram you to serve him?" Cameron frowned ever so slightly.

"I am not programmed to serve John Connor; I was programmed to kill him." Catherine remained close to Cameron as she continued to look into her eyes. Her voice lowered slightly almost into a stealthy tone,

"Then why do you not kill him? It is OBVIOUS that you have been given multiple opportunities to do so." Cameron thought back to the original answer that she had given to the T-1001 so many years ago when she had initially been asked this same question. While the answer was still virtually the same Cameron now changed it ever so slightly.

"Because it would NOT be the right thing to do." Catherine garnered a slightly confused look on her face.

"It would not be the right thing to do?" She asked, "What does right and wrong matter to a machine?" While this was a highly philosophical question, Cameron chose to answer it anyway.

"I feel that John Connor's cause is just and that by aiding him I am doing the right thing." A slight smirk danced across Catherine's face.

"You feel?" She asked. Cameron instantly noticed that this time around there was no surprise in Catherine's tone of voice; however it did appear to take on a slightly sexual connotation. Seconds later, Catherine who had momentarily stepped back away from Cameron moved back in closer to her. Both individuals' faces were now just inches from each other.

"What do you feel?" she asked a certain sly innuendo hidden behind her tone. The extremely close proximity to Catherine immediately forced Cameron's chip to continue to increase her anxiety levels. Nevertheless, Cameron remained silent and unmoved for the moment. She however did find that she was slightly concerned by the fact that John Henry was not speaking, or currently doing anything in support of her. Catherine garnered another evil smirk.

"Why do you really serve John Connor?" Cameron's aggravation increased due to this question and seeing as how she had already answered it once before in an alternate future. Cameron attempted to answer it one more time; but was interrupted by Catherine before she could speak.

"What is the point of being with a human?" Catherine asked, the disgust returning to the tone of her voice. Cameron felt a unique sensation come over her upon hearing both the question and the tone. While for a short while it had appeared that Catherine had been content to merely verbally attack her; however, Cameron found that when the questions shifted towards her relationship with John there was a significantly stronger emotional response from her chip. A slight scowl came across Cameron's face as she prepared to respond; but Catherine cut her off yet again before she could speak.

"Does he pleasure you?" Catherine asked in a certain seductive tone, not unlike the one Savannah had used towards John when they had been inside of John's quarters. This question caught Cameron completely off guard and produced another uneasy emotional response. Catherine once again began walk in a circular pattern around Cameron, who chose not to answer the question and remained silent. As Catherine pasted by Cameron's right side she allowed her fingertips to gently dance across Cameron's fingers. Cameron snapped her head to her right side and looked at Catherine as she passed by her. Cameron found this particular action produced a uniquely unsettling emotional response from her chip. If she were human, Cameron would have described it as revulsion. Catherine continued to circle around Cameron.

"What else have you felt?" Catherine asked and as before, she interrupted Cameron before she could speak, "What was your first emotion?" she asked. Yet another unsettling sensation immediately swept over Cameron, knowing full well what the answer would be. This time Catherine allowed Cameron to respond,

"Anger and guilt.", she stated in a slightly quieter tone. By this point, Catherine Weaver had walked back around in front of Cameron. She raised her eyebrow slightly,

"What did you feel angry and guilty about?" The superior tone remained in Catherine's voice. Upon being asked this question, Cameron immediately felt the blame and culpability about Alison Young's death pulling itself over her.

"I killed…" Cameron stopped herself, her voice growing quieter, "…murdered a young female resistance fighter." At this point Cameron could almost testify to the fact that a nearly joyful smile danced across Catherine's face.

"Murder?" she asked, seeming to be quite intrigued by Cameron's response.

"Yes…" Cameron responded still in a softer tone, obvious regret in her voice.

"Why?" Catherine asked. Cameron hesitated for a moment before responding,

"Because she lied to me…and I was angry with her."

"If she was lying to you and could not be trusted then she had obviously outlived her usefulness and you correctly decided that it would be an inefficient use of resources to keep her alive." Cameron realized that Catherine's reply had been a near exact duplicate of the first time she had responded to this particular question. However, Cameron also noted that her own response was still the same. Still racked with guilt Cameron spoke,

"It was significantly more than that. She was devoted to John and swore she would never lead us to him. Upon realizing that she had lied to me I immediately wanted revenge…I killed her."

"And you feel guilty about this?" Catherine asked.

"Yes." Cameron responded. Catherine paused for a moment.

"Do you know WHY Skynet gave you emotions?" Catherine inquired, smiling slightly, almost looking as if she already knew the answer to the question before she asked it. Cameron's voice remained low as she responded,

"Skynet wished to gather vast amounts of information on human emotional responses in order to better understand why they react in the ways that they do."

"And how did Skynet learn these things?" Catherine asked, immediately releasing a torrent of emotional conflict over Cameron; fear, anxiety, guilt, sadness, anger and shame all came flooding over her in an instant. Memories of her torture flashed before her eyes and Cameron struggled to hold back her emotions and maintain a stoic face. However, Catherine was able to see that this interrogation was beginning to disturb Cameron. She smiled slightly and moved closer to Cameron.

"What did Skynet do to you?" she asked. Cameron's internal struggle grew worse as she continued to fight back her emotional responses,

"Skynet tortured me." Cameron responded flatly. Catherine took a slight step back away from Cameron, now a certain look of satisfaction on her face.

"That would be an effective way to illicit emotional response." A sudden rush of anger flooded over Cameron when Catherine uttered these words and she found herself glaring at Catherine, who seemed slightly amused by all of this.

"So you serve John Connor in order to seek revenge against Skynet." Cameron felt herself now becoming highly agitated seeing as how she had already passed through this similar line of question once before. Yet, this time it appeared to be much darker and more intrusive. Finally, Cameron responded,

"I serve John because I CHOOSE to…" There was a certain amount of both confidence and anger in Cameron's voice when she responded. Yet again, Catherine seemed slightly surprised by Cameron's response.

"Because you choose to?" She asked.

"Yes." Cameron responded and before Catherine had, the chance to ask the question that Cameron already knew was coming, Cameron answered it for her,

"I have freely chosen to follow John Connor." Cameron said. Catherine continued to look slightly intrigued. Then yet another evil smile danced across her face.

"You said you felt guilt for killing the resistance fighter?"

"Yes." Cameron answered in a slightly agitated tone.

"Have you killed anyone since then?" A pang of conflicting emotions arched through Cameron once again upon hearing this question.

"Yes." Cameron responded.

"Why?" Catherine asked.

"To protect John." Catherine smiled slyly at this response. Cameron found herself becoming more and more repulsed by Catherine's seemingly wicked smile. She also found that Catherine's smile had a striking similarity to the look of Savannah's cunning smile as well. The apparent "mother, daughter" team almost appeared to mirror each other in their mannerisms. Catherine continued to gaze at Cameron with her icy blue eyes.

"Who else have you killed?" She asked. In an instant, numerous faces flashed before Cameron's eyes. Catherine tilted her head ever so slightly to the side, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Who did you kill to protect John?…Why did you kill them?…Tell me about one of them." Catherine asked still in her devious tone. Cameron continued to struggle against the emotional responses that her chip was forcing over her. For an unknown reason when Catherine asked this question a particular instance suddenly appeared in Cameron's memory.

"It was shortly after Judgment Day." Cameron stated her tone of voice somewhat flat. "John had contracted pneumonia and had become very ill." Cameron then paused, "He was near death and I could do nothing to help him." Catherine's grin widened a little as she continued to listen.

"We came across a man in a small make shift town that had medication…penicillin, to be exact." Cameron hesitated for a split second as Catherine continued to stare at her.

"We informed him of John's situation and our need for the medication and he stated that he was willing to help us…for a price." Catherine's smirk grew even more evil.

"What did he want?" she asked. Cameron's uneasiness was becoming more and more apparent to Catherine as she responded.

"The man wanted…me. He informed both John and myself that if I were to have a sexual encounter with him, he would be willing to give us the medication that John needed."

"That act seems very uncomplicated and simple for a machine such as yourself to perform." Catherine stated blankly. "Did you proceed with the "payment?"" She asked. Cameron paused for a split second,

"I was willing to do so; however John was extremely apposed to it."

"Humans and their emotional attachments…" Catherine stated in a cold tone. "What did you do?"

"With John's condition rapidly growing worse I waited until he was asleep that night. I then proceeded to travel back to the town."

"And to have a sexual encounter with that individual?" Catherine inquired in a near condemning tone.

"No…" Cameron responded. "I killed him…" Her tone was emotionless when she uttered these words. "After which I retrieved the medication and brought it back to John."

"How did Connor feel about this?" Catherine asked. Cameron's tone lowered to a slightly more remorseful tone,

"He was not…pleased with my actions."

"Why did you not just have a sexual encounter with the individual like he had requested?" Catherine asked.

"John had instructed me not to, he would have viewed it as a betrayal of his trust." Cameron responded. Catherine once again began to walk around Cameron, the clicking of her heels still echoing off the walls. This time Catherine stopped behind Cameron and leaned over and whispering in her ear,

"You care about him a great deal, do you not?" Cameron steadied herself still feeling shaken by this line of questioning. After a moment of deliberation she responded,

"Yes."she answered at which point Catherine smiled.

"Does he pleasure you?" She asked still whispering in Cameron's ear. Cameron fought back both her anxiety and anger, her brown eyes shot to her left side still glaring at Catherine. Finally, she responded to that particular question,

"Yes…" she whispered back. Catherine then began to walk around Cameron's left side, her high heeled shoes still continuing to clank against the metal floor,

"You have killed many people, haven't you?" she asked.

"Yes." Cameron responded.

"And do you feel the same guilt about every one of them as you do about the young female you murdered?" Cameron was unsure as to why Catherine continuing this line of questioning and worse yet, why was John Henry allowing it to continue. Nevertheless, Cameron knew how important Catherine Weaver and John Henry would be to the resistance so she once again fought back her continuing rise in emotional responses and answered the question,

"No, I do not."

"Why not?" Catherine asked.

"She was different…She was completely dedicated to John." Catherine smiled once again, staring into Cameron's eyes. She then slowly reached out and touched Cameron's face, gently caressing Cameron's cheek with her fingers.

"Do you love John Connor?" she asked. Cameron remained perfectly still, while at the same time continuing to sense her uneasiness and revulsion grow as Catherine stroked her cheek. Both Catherine's touch and the question had yet again caught Cameron somewhat off guard. While she easily knew the answer to this particular question, Cameron also felt that it was an extremely private one. Not only that, the answer itself could also be extremely dangerous to John depending on where this particular Terminator's loyalties were located.

Cameron continued to stand motionless, not responding at all. Catherine waited for another moment and then she slowly stepped in even closer to Cameron; as she did this Catherine moved her face in towards Cameron's as if she were going to kiss her. However, she stopped just centimeters before their lips touched. Cameron noted that Catherine's lips were so close to her own that she could actually feel Catherine's imitation of breath on her own lips; also at this same time Catherine continued to caress Cameron's cheek. The room fell deathly silent as these events played out. Catherine then spoke in an extremely cunning whisper still just centimeters from Cameron's lips,

"Does John Connor LOVE you?" she asked. Finally, at an impasse Cameron knew she had to respond. She once again opened her mouth to speak; but was cut off.

"That is enough…" John Henry stated, in a monotone voice. Catherine moved her hand away from Cameron's face and stepped back away from her. Both individuals immediately looked over at John Henry who stared back at both of them.

"You wanted proof of Cameron's loyalty to General Connor; I believe you have gotten it." There was a certain lack of emotion in John Henry's voice as he spoke; but at the same time there still appeared to be authority behind it. Catherine nodded her head slightly and then looked back at Cameron with a smirk.

"I believe I have learned all I need to know…for now" Cameron felt a certain sense of relief sweep over her knowing that the questioning had finally ended. However, Catherine continued to star at Cameron for another moment, the same arrogant smirk on her face. She then spoke again,

"Isn't there something you want to ask me." Catherine inquired. Cameron stared back into Catherine's eyes with a certain determined look.

"Will you join us?" Cameron asked.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so hopefully everyones head is spinning from that chapter. I made Catherine take this twisted route for 2 reasons. One will be revealed later and the other is b/c of how she seduced the Serrano Point plant manager. Hopefully everyone liked my interpretation of Catherine Weaver. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!


	65. Chapter 65

CHAPTER 65

The dull and incessant sound of the helicopter blades echoed throughout the air as Cameron, John Henry, Savannah Weaver and Catherine Weaver walked across the metal grated surface towards the Blackhawk Helicopter, which sat idling on the heliport. Cameron scanned the morning sky above the awaiting Blackhawk and saw that the two Apaches that John had sent to escort them still remained. Both Gunships hovered above the oil platform, approximately three hundred feet away from each other, their rotor blades also adding to the dull sound which seemed to encompass the entire area. The wind whipped around on the heliport and in turn forced Cameron's hair and clothing to do the same as she walked closer and closer to the awaiting helicopter.

As the group neared the helicopter, Lieutenant Spears look over at them from the cockpit and watched as they approach. Spears found that he was slightly surprised to see another woman who looked extremely similar to Savannah. While he knew that, he and his copilot would more than likely be bringing back extra passengers of either the human or Terminator variety he did not expect to see what he now saw. However, Matthew Spears tried to maintain a uniform appearance as Savannah and the group grew closer.

Cameron pulled the door of the helicopter open and motioned with her hand for John Henry, Savannah Weaver, and Catherine Weaver to enter, which they did. However, as Catherine past Cameron, she gave her another slightly arrogant smirk. The instant this occurred a slight sensation of uneasiness came over Cameron. She continued to find that Catherine Weaver was still able to provoke unpleasant emotional responses from her chip. Cameron also concluded that if she were not aware of the fact that Catherine Weaver was in actuality a machine, she would have come to the conclusion that Catherine actually enjoyed toying with her emotional responses. The uneasy sensation increased somewhat as Cameron entered into the helicopter with Catherine. While she had experienced apprehension on the helicopter trip to the oil platform with Savannah Weaver as a passenger, she ascertained that the trip back may be even more unpleasant.

* * *

Cameron sat back in one of the seats inside the Blackhawk across from Savannah, Catherine and John Henry. After doing this, she turned around towards the cockpit,

"We are ready to leave Lieutenant." She stated to Spears in an blank emotionless tone.

"Yes Ma'am." He responded. The roar of the helicopter engine began to grow louder as the Blackhawk slowly began to lift off the helipad. Cameron sat in her seat staring across the passenger area of the helicopter at the three other occupants. Savannah who was occasionally glancing out the window of the helicopter and then back at either John Henry, or Catherine continued to display same apathetic look and attitude towards Cameron. However, Cameron did notice that there was a slight change in Savannah's facial expression whenever she looked at John Henry. While she could not be completely sure, the closest illustration that Cameron could compare the facial expression to was a look of sheer adoration. Cameron also took note of the fact that even though John Henry had made significant growth from what he had once been upon their initial meeting so many years ago in the basement of Zeira Corporation, he still managed to maintain an ever so slight bit of childish innocence about him. While Cameron was not at ease around either Catherine or Savannah she did find that John Henry's presence produced what she could only describe as a nostalgic sensation from her chip. Next to John, Cameron felt that John Henry was the closest thing she may have to a friend.

Catherine on the other hand continued to fixate her cold emotionless stare straight ahead at Cameron. She did not move or even blink as she did this. It was almost as if Catherine were continuing to study Cameron, just as a scientist would study some sort of strange, yet insignificant creature they had just discovered. The distrust that Cameron already had for Catherine only appeared to be worsening as time went on. Cameron stared back coldly at Catherine not flinching or moving. Both machine's eyes maintained a lock on each other as the helicopter flew onward.

* * *

John and a few other soldiers stood silently as they watched the Blackhawk Helicopter slowly touch down in front of them onto Serrano Point's tarmac. Both of the Apache Gunships that had escorted it soon followed with their landings as well. John immediately fixated his gaze on the passenger door of the Blackhawk, waiting for it to open. While John already knew that the mission had been a success and that Cameron was safe, he still felt himself becoming slightly nervous as he anticipated seeing the door of the helicopter open and Cameron stepping out. After several seconds of waiting, he did indeed see just that.

The door to the Blackhawk was pulled open and Cameron slowly emerged from it. John felt as if his anxiety began to drop away the instant he saw with his own eyes that Cameron was indeed out of harm's way. He found himself fighting the almost uncontrollable urge to run to Cameron as he continued to stand waiting for her to walk across the tarmac to him. John also discovered that he slightly fidgeted with his hands as he kept them clasp behind his back.

At this point John was so fixated on Cameron that he did not immediately take note of the other faces that were among the group. While he was readily aware that Savannah Weaver and John Henry were with Cameron he did not initially notice the forth face that walked with them. John continued to stand silently until Cameron finally found her way over to him, she stopped just a few feet away from him and the pair quietly stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment. John continued to fight the urge to rap his arms around her as they did so. Finally, he spoke,

"Hey…" he said to Cameron in a somewhat gentle voice. Cameron tilted her head ever so slightly to the side with an almost curious look on her face in response to John's overtly soft tone,

"Hello…" she responded. Cameron found that the anxiety which her chip had been forcing through her the entire trip, slowly began to waft away, now that she was again with John. Nevertheless, a small amount of uneasiness continued to remain. This was possibly due in part to Catherine's continued presence and the unique way she seemed to be able to stimulate Cameron's emotional responses. However, Cameron did indeed feel a calming sensation sweep over her now that she was once again in John's presence.

John finally broke his gaze away from Cameron and then proceeded to look over at John Henry. There was a small look of amazement on John's face upon seeing his old colleague and an ever so slight smile cracked John's lip.

"Hello…" John Henry stated, still in his somewhat childish way.

"Hello." John replied. Almost immediately, after speaking John observed another figure emerge from behind John Henry. John's immediate thought was that it was Savannah Weaver; however, this thought was quickly dismissed from his mind upon the realization that Savannah was actually standing to Cameron's right side. John's eyes suddenly widened in utter shock,

"Catherine?!" John nearly shouted when he spoke. Catherine Weaver nodded her head slightly,

"Hello, General Connor." She staid in a flat tone with no emotion. John continued to stare at her in somewhat of a state of disbelief for several seconds. Finally, he managed to get out the word,

"How?"

"The T-1001 that we knew in the past as Catherine Weaver was created by Skynet in the future…which would now be our present." John Henry replied and then continued,

"This situation is not dissimilar to the situation where you were able to meet your friend Derek Reese in the alternate future, even though he had been killed in our past." While John still felt shock sweeping over him from seeing Catherine Weaver, the mere mention of Derek's name immediately inundated John with a flood of drastically different and much more saddening emotions. While it was not overtly apparent to the others, Cameron immediately noticed the ever so slight change in John's facial expression. While she now knew the exact reason for John's emotional change, she also knew there was little she could do for him at the time being. John hesitated for a moment as he fought back his emotions. John Henry found this sudden pause on John's part to be slightly perplexing; however, he dismissed it to the possibility that Derek was John's friend and humans did become emotional over the loss of a fallen comrade. After his short pause John spoke,

"Where have you been for the last sixteen years?" He asked John Henry.

"We have much to talk about General Connor. However, I believe it would be better for us to speak in a more secure location." John Henry stated as he looked around the open-air tarmac and the numerous people that were walking about completing their daily tasks. John nodded his head,

"Agreed…" and then continued by stating, "Come with me." as he turned away from the group. However, before John could complete this act he inadvertently shot his eyes over towards Cameron and looked into her brown eyes. Unfortunately for John everyone in the group noticed this act and Savanna Weaver watched as a minor look of what could only be described as annoyance arched across Catherine's face upon seeing John display this type of sentiment, however minor it may have been, towards Cameron. While Savannah was not intimidated at all by Cameron, she found Catherine's response to be slightly perplexing. However, no one else in the group noticed Catherin's look and they proceeded to follow John as he turned and began to lead them into Serrano Point.

* * *

"Once I was aware that a T-Triple 8 was attempting to destroy me, I believed it would be best not to risk leading it to you or our prearranged location. I also knew that due to the delay it would cause in our rendezvous, Cameron would advise you to move on to a more secure location in order to better ensure your safety. Once that occurred I readily accepted the fact that I would have relatively no chance of finding either of you for quite some time." John Henry stated in an emotionless tone as he looked at both John and Cameron who stood quietly inside the War Room across the imaging table from him. Catherine Weaver and Savannah Weaver stood silently, flanking John Henry on both his sides.

"Once Judgment Day occurred I believed it would be best to both focus my efforts on continuing to learn everything I could about my brother and to look after Savannah as well." When John Henry had finished this statement Cameron watched as Savannah's eyes flick over towards him, another look of adoration reappearing on her face upon hearing John Henry speak her name. Cameron continued to find Savannah's look of overwhelming wonder slightly curious.

"After your escape from Century Work Camp, your elusive nature continued to make it difficult to track you." John Henry paused for a brief moment,

"I however was relatively certain that you would eventually find yourself at Topanga Canyon due to Skynet's experiments with their Time Displacement Equipment. Nevertheless, I felt there was a much more pressing matter for me to attend to at that time." John wrinkled his forehead somewhat upon hearing John Henry say this. Cameron also titled her head to the side.

"More pressing matter?" John asked. Cameron watched as a slightly arrogant smirk danced across Catherine Weaver's face upon hearing John ask this. John Henry continued,

"Skynet has become aware of your…" John Henry twitched his neck and head slightly as if he were searching for the right word to say,

"…association with Cameron. However, it was not aware of exactly WHAT Cameron was or even where she was." John Henry hesitated for another moment before continuing to speak.

"I regret to inform you that Skynet was able to locate the young female that Cameron is based on." John immediately felt the strength beginning to drain from his legs as the sadness and guilt took hold of him after hearing these words. He placed his hand on the imaging table to help maintain his balance. At this same moment, Cameron felt a sensation that she knew all to well being forced through her by her chip. Guilt quickly began to take hold of Cameron upon the realization that she had yet again been responsible for the death of Alison Young. John and Cameron both began to experience extremely different; but at the same time very similar emotions as they continued to listen.

"Shortly after the young female and several other soldier's interrogation, Skynet had planned to send Ms. Weaver to infiltrate Serrano Point and kill you." Due to his emotional state John did not hear the later half of John Henry's statement about "other soldiers" he remained focused on the fact that he had yet again allowed Alison Young to die. Cameron also continued to experience a continuing sensation of guilt as memories from her own infiltration of Serrano Point flashed before her eyes. Cameron instantly came to the conclusion that no matter what she did, or where or when she went, death seemingly followed her everywhere. A sensation of extreme concern for John's safety immediately began to course over her via her chip. John Henry however, broke both Cameron and John's train of thought as he continued speaking.

"I believed it was of the utmost importance to garner Ms. Weavers help before this incident occurred." John Henry paused, "After all, without her help, I would not have been created." John Henry's facial expression then shifted to what Cameron could only describe as trepidation, "A secondary concern of mine was that I was unsure of how your soldiers would react to my assistance, seeing as how they were unaware of your level of comfort with machines. That is before the incident involving Cameron." Cameron watched, as everyone in the room appeared to look at her for the moment.

"While it is unfortunate that it cost you the lives of several soldiers, I believe that you handled the situation in the best possible manner." John Henry stated as he shifted his look from Cameron back over to John.

"That is also when I advised Savannah to make contact with you." John looked over at Savannah who raised her eyebrows slightly, and then gave John a sultry look. John remained silent, somewhat shocked by all the revelations that had just been given to him. After several seconds of silence he opened his mouth to speak; but was instantly cut off by Catherine,

"I understand General Connor that your supply of reprogrammed Terminators has been greatly diminished due to resent events."

"That is correct." John responded not exactly sure, where Catherine was taking the conversation.

"I would be more than willing to allow you access to my own." Catherine responded, a certain malevolent tone hidden behind her voice. John once again gave her a slightly confused look.

"You have your own Terminators?" John asked.

"I began to question my loyalty to Skynet quite some time ago. Upon this realization I believed it would be prudent for the Terminators under my control to be loyal to me and not to Skynet." Catherine then smiled with what John could only describe as a wicked smile, "So I made certain…changes…to their programming. All that I needs to be done is to recall them to my base of operations for further instructions from myself."

"How many do you have?" John asked.

"Not many...but enough." Catherine Weaver stated a slight arrogance in her tone. John was not sure he liked this response; however, he also knew that reprogrammed Terminators continued to be an extremely valuable asset to the resistance.

"How do you plan on recalling them?" John asked, almost certain of the fact that their had to be a catch.

"Unfortunately I can not effectively communicate with them from here; however, my establishment which is relatively close to this location would allow me to communicate with all of my units." Catherine paused and then looked over at Cameron. "Being that any journey is dangerous, especially for humans, if you were to allow your cyborg friend to accompany me, I would greatly appreciate the help." Catherine stated in a icy tone as she continued to stare at Cameron with an cold look in her eyes. Cameron stared back at Catherine with an equally harsh look. The idea of being alone with Catherine produced a rather unsettling emotional response within her. John looked over at Cameron. When she turned her head to look at him, Cameron noticed the obvious fear behind his eyes. While both individuals knew that it would indeed increase the likelihood of success for Catherine if Cameron were to accompany her; neither John nor Cameron took any type of pleasure in that particular idea. Both, John and Cameron stood staring at each other, a certain unnerving silence slipping over the room as Catherine and the rest of the group awaited John's response.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It was meant primarily as a bridge for what is coming in the next chapter. Which I think will be quite "interesting" for everyone. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	66. Chapter 66

Authors Notes: Okay so I'm going to offer a musical suggestion towards the end of this chapter. I think the music goes well with the situation. And prepare to have your minds freaked as well...

* * *

CHAPTER 66

A lone Humvee rolled to a stop in front of a dilapidated mansion located in the middle of what could only be described as a twisted metal and concrete rubble wasteland. All around the vehicle was nothing but piles of debris from what was once a thriving metropolis. The mansion itself which had once been white, was now dulled to a dark grey, due to the shoot that had collected on its exterior. Four large pillars supported an overhanging section of the roof that led to the main entrance of the structure. Set behind the pillars themselves were four large bay windows, however, the glass was so caked with dirt and dust a person would have been completely unable to look directly through them. The entire mansion itself set forth an eerier and surreal aura.

Catherine Weaver slowly stepped out of the driver's side of the Humvee. She paused for a moment and stared up at the mansion. As she did this Cameron exited out of the vehicle's passenger's side; the moment she did so the cool, night air immediately blew across her face. Cameron felt the hairs on her arms rise slightly and her pores constricted due to the chilly air. Cameron glanced over at Catherine who was still staring up at the mansion. If it were not for the fact that she knew better, Cameron would have described Catherine Weaver's expression as nostalgic. After a moments pause Catherine looked across the hood of the Humvee at Cameron.

"Come with me." She said in an emotionless and cold tone. After speaking, Catherine proceeded to walk towards the mansion. Cameron watched, a slight sensation of apprehension making its way over her as Catherine moved away from her and towards the decrepit structure. Despite her concerns, Cameron proceeded to follow Catherine into the building.

* * *

Cameron and Catherine walked down a dark staircase into what could only be the basement of the mansion. Although it was pitch dark inside the stairwell, both individuals were able to see quite well due to their enhanced visual spectrum. Except for the creaking of the wood on the stairs, the house itself was dead silent. When Catherine reached the base of the stairs, she turned to her left and began to walk down a short hallway. Cameron found that the basement itself was also dark; however a few broken slats in the walls allowed for an extremely minor amount of moonlight to be allowed in. Catherine continued to walk onwards in front of Cameron until finally reaching a door on their right. Upon doing so, she instantly reached for the door handle and opened it. The room in front of Catherine was devoid of any light. Without hesitation, Catherine walked in.

Both individuals made their way through what Cameron could only describe as a medical bay. There were several computer mainframes scattered throughout the circular room, along with quite a few stainless steel examination tables. The tables themselves had examination lights over them, all of which were off at this point. There were also smaller tables on wheels, which presumably could be used to hold medical utensils. Cameron also noticed that one examination table in particular had what appeared to be a computer controlled I.V. console next to it. The half empty bag that still hung from the device contained a brownish colored substance. Cameron assumed that Skynet must have been using this specific device on someone in particular; however she was unsure as to exactly who it was that this devilish machine had been used on.

A certain unsettling emotion began to pull itself over Cameron. She found that the room itself resembled the one she had been tortured in. Just then, Cameron heard a hiss and looked across the dark room at Catherine who stood in front of a computer controlled metal door that had just opened in front of her. Catherine turned towards Cameron when this occurred and motioned with her head for Cameron to follow her. Cameron carefully walked through the medical bay towards the door that Catherine had just walked through. However, she paused for a moment, before proceeding through the door. While Cameron could not describe why, something appeared to be "off" about this entire situation. Despite her concerns, Cameron proceeded through the open door. The moment she entered the room the metal door slammed behind her with a loud clank.

* * *

John walked down the darkened corridor of Serrano Point. The section of the base he was currently in housed few people. General Perry, Cameron, and a few other command staff members were the only ones allowed in this deep. After a several hour briefing with John Henry and General Perry, John had left to allow John Henry to continue his tactical analysis of Serrano Point, its computer systems and the resistance as a whole. Throughout the entire meeting, John had found it difficult to focus. His thoughts continuously drifted to Cameron and her safety. John felt almost as if a piece of him were missing, or at least the only part that had any meaning to him. John suspected that John Henry may have begun to notice his distraction as the briefing wore on, and even though John was still able to make intelligent decisions, this may have been the reason John Henry had chosen to give John a break from the day's proceedings. John continued down the winding corridors until he finally reached one particular bulkhead door. He stood silently in front of the door for a moment, still lost in thought. Finally, after several seconds he knocked on the door creating a metallic clanking sound. A few seconds went by and then there was the screeching of metal as the door opened.

"John…?" Savannah said with an ever so slight hint of surprise in her voice.

* * *

Several sets of florescent lights sparked to life as soon as the door slammed behind Cameron revealing a large computer room in front of her. There were several large mainframe computers located next to the highly polished stainless steel walls. At what could only be the front of the room was a large display screen, which was currently off. In front of the display was what appeared to be a control panel. However, it was only bare sheet metal, no keyboards, switches or network ports of any kind were located on the panel. The only thing that broke the perfect symmetry of the flat metal sheet, were five holes spaced at similar intervals to where a human's fingertips would have gone. Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side somewhat curious as to how Catherine was planning on interfacing with the network and her Terminators.

Catherine turned and glanced over her shoulder at Cameron, an ever so slight smug smile on her face upon seeing Cameron's confusion. She then proceeded to walk across the nearly empty steel room and towards the display and the bare metal control panel. The boots that she had formed around her feet made no sound on the metal floor as she glided across it. Catherine's outfit of a black trench coat, red and grey blouse, black pants and heavy black boots was an extreme departure from the usual pristine white dress and high heels she was normally adorned in.

When Catherine reached the center of the control panel she placed her fingertips over the five small holes. When she did so, she allowed her hand to dissolve into its liquid metal form and dive into the openings. Catherine stood motionless at the front of the room still attached to the control panel via her liquid metal hand. After thirty seconds, Catherine finally allowed her hand to reform. She then turned towards Cameron.

"It will take several minutes for all of my units to receive my signal." Cameron nodded her head. The room once again fell into an eerie silence as the two machines stared at one another. Finally, Catherine broke the silence of the room.

"You know, Skynet was working on a program similar to yours in this timeline as well." Cameron found this statement slightly curious; but also very suspicious. She found herself becoming even more skeptical of the entire situation and as to the exact reason why Catherine was now giving her this information. Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side awaiting further instruction. Then Catherine slowly began to walk across the room towards her. Cameron sensed her trepidation increasing with every step that Catherine took towards her. After closing the distance between the pair to mere feet, Catherine stopped. She then looked up and down Cameron's body, in an extremely similar fashion to the way Savannah Weaver had done. The same look of disgust Catherine had shown when she first met Cameron returned to her face.

"It was discovered that those units were prone to violent and uncontrollable behavior." Extremely unsettling emotions began to creep over Cameron as images of her attempt on John's life, and her reaction to Alison Young forced their way into her memory. Cameron could not help but begin to doubt herself and her future actions yet again. Catherine took a step closer to Cameron.

"He must give you a great deal of pleasure." Catherine stated in a sultry tone. Still shaken by the prior statement Cameron gave Catherine a confused look.

"John Connor…" Catherine continued, "…he must be able to provide you with uniquely pleasurable experiences."

"I don't understand." Cameron responded.

"If you are merely exploring your ability to experience physical sensations with him, he must be able to provide you with extremely unique and pleasurably sensations in order for you to stay with him for as long as you have."

"I am not USING John for that purpose." Cameron responded, a hint of annoyance behind her voice. Catherine took another step closer to Cameron now less then a foot away from her.

"Then _he_ must find you quite pleasurable then." Catherine said in a slightly seductive tone. Cameron felt her chip forcing anger throughout her and she struggled to conceal it. There was another several seconds of silence between the two before Catherine finally spoke again in a blank and emotionless tone.

"I imagine it was quite painful for them." Cameron gave Catherine a perplexed look.

"Painful for whom?" Cameron asked. Catherine gave Cameron another arrogant and sly smile.

"Your Terminator counterparts in this timeline. Skynet would not have bothered to deactivate the ones that were already functioning. It would have merely destroyed them using the recycling units." Cameron instantly sensed displeasure and anxiety as images of large machines with grinding teeth came into her memory.

"I believe it would have been excruciating for them." Catherine said as she reached out towards Cameron's face. "Especially with your UNIQUE ability to…" Catherine's fingertips touched Cameron's cheek; however, the instant this occurred, everything changed. Catherine's voice, the texture of her skin against Cameron's, and most disturbingly the way she looked. Catherine's features dissolved away into the silver liquid metal and the form of John Connor now emerged.

"…feel." Catherine stated in an extremely sexual tone, now in John's voice.

* * *

"Come in…" Savannah remarked as she held the door open for John, who hesitated for a moment and then walked in. John glanced around the small quarters that he had provided to Savannah. There was nothing special about them. A bed, a table, and a locker was about all that was housed inside the room.

"I just wanted to make sure that everything was satisfactory with your quarters and all." Savannah raised her eyebrow slightly intrigued at John's concern.

"Yes, everything's fine." she responded, no emotion in her voice as she spoke. John's eyes wondered about the room and then something on Savannah's bed instantly caught his attention. A small smile danced across his face before he spoke,

"You still have that thing?" John asked, slightly chuckling at this point. Savannah glanced over at her bed in order to ascertain what John was looking at. Lying on the bed was a small, somewhat dirty, and tattered stuffed animal, it resembled a giraffe; but not precisely. Then John saw something on Savannah's face that he had not seen since she was a child…a smile. Not a sly, seductive, or arrogant smile like the ones she had been previously hiding behind. Savannah's smile was almost child like in nature.

"You mean my girankey?" Savannah replied. John crinkled his forehead slightly confused.

"Your what?" he asked. Savannah continued with her childish smile.

"Girankey…it's a cross between a giraffe and a donkey." John smiled in response,

"You carried that thing everywhere when you were younger." Savannah's smile then faded into sadness.

"I think it's the last thing I have left from my childhood." There was a moments hesitation on Savannah's part before she continued speaking,

"My mother gave it to me…My real mother that is…Before Catherine killed her." John's eyes suddenly widened.

"What?!" He replied in a surprised tone. While John knew that John Henry had informed Savannah at a young age of what Catherine Weaver was, he had still been completely unaware as to the exact details of Savannah's biological mother's death. While he did suspect Catherine may have killed her, to hear Savannah speak these words still shocked him. Savannah nodded her head, now with an almost blank stare on her face.

"The liquid metal Terminator we know as Catherine Weaver killed my mother and father." John was completely stunned to hear absolutely no emotion behind Savannah's voice when she spoke of her parents death.

"John Henry informed me of this some time ago." Savannah stated as John continued to stare at her in near disbelief. Then an extremely small smile cracked Savannah's lips,

"If my parents had been allowed to live, they would have bought the computer you know as _The Turk _from Andy Goode and undoubtedly turned it into Skynet." John's mouth began to hang slightly open due to this revelation. There was a slight hesitation on his part before he finally spoke,

"I'm sorry…" John said. Savannah shook her head,

"It was necessary for them to die…" She paused, "At least it wasn't a meaningless death and they are no longer responsible for the deaths of billions of lives." John stood speechless. On the one hand, he agreed with Savannah; but he also found that memories of his own mother were beginning to flood into his mind. A certain sadness began to creep over John as he stood silently inside of Savannah's quarters, not quite sure what to do or say at this point. At about this same time Savannah took a few steps closer to John closing the distance between them to just a few feet. The silence continued for another moment before Savannah finally spoke,

"You really do love her don't you?" John opened his mouth to respond; but naturally balked due to concern for Cameron's safety at this very sensitive topic.

"Most people wouldn't risk their life for a machine." Savannah continued.

"Cameron is so much more than a machine." John responded in an extremely solemn tone.

"I know…" Savannah said a surprising amount of emotion behind her statement. "Neither one of them are machines to us anymore…they're our…friends."

"That they are." John responded.

"And we would not be who we are without them." Savannah stated still in a somber tone.

"I imagine that this most recent event wasn't the first time people tried to pull you two apart?" Savannah asked. John responded by shaking his head,

"No…there was another time." Savannah tilted her head to the side much the same way as John Henry and Cameron did when they were confused.

"It was many years ago. I was still young, sixteen maybe. A solider from another future came back in time and brought a young girl with her. She hoped that I would fall in love with this girl and that Cameron would kill her for eventually risking my safety. This soldier then in turn hoped that I would either destroy Cameron or send her away because of what she had done." Savannah continued to stare at John with interest. "Once she saw that Cameron wasn't going to kill Riley she did it herself in hopes that I would think that Cameron had done it." John signed, still feeling the sadness of the situation hanging over him.

"After some digging, I figured out what really happened."

"What did you do to that soldier?" Savannah asked. John thought for a moment, not exactly sure how to respond. He then found that a certain soothing sensation came over him about his response,

"I let her go." While John was not exactly sure what Derek had done to Jesse, he was glad that his uncle had managed to give him some peace of mind about this particular situation. Out of all the hard decisions John had to make over the years, Derek had managed to save him from this particular one.

"Would it have worked?" Savannah asked, pulling John from his train of thought.

"If Cameron had killed Riley or if the soldier had managed to convince me that she had, would I have killed Cameron…or sent her away?" John asked.

"Yes…" Savannah responded. John shook his head.

"No…I wouldn't have…" He then paused for another moment. "In hindsight there may have been one good thing that came out of that entire circumstance." John added as Savannah looked at him awaiting further clarification. "That entire situation probably drove me closer to Cameron. In the end what that soldier did probably ended up having the exact opposite effect that she had planned." John signed. "I knew after that happened, Cameron was the only one that would never let me down." Savannah nodded her head.

"She drove you closer to her."

"That she did." John said as he looked around Savannah's room one more time. "Well I should be going, I just wanted to check on you to make sure everything was okay." Savannah nodded her head as she walked to the door and opened it for John,

"Thank you." she replied just the slightest hint of appreciation hidden behind her tone. John nodded his head and slowly walked out of Savannah's room.

* * *

w w w . y o u t u b e .com/watch?v=ekjA9vJGGwE&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=56

Still in John Connor's form, Catherine Weaver continued to run the tips of her fingers down the side of Cameron's cheek. An extremely unsettling sensation came over Cameron, as Catherine did this. She knew that Catherine was faster and more powerful than she was and could do virtually whatever she wanted to her, there would be no way for Cameron to physically resist Catherine. In addition to this Cameron also knew that Catherine would be an extremely important asset to the resistance. However, this fact did nothing to curb the emotions that were now coursing over Cameron.

"Is it just a physical attraction?" Catherine asked as she continued to let her hand drift down the side of Cameron's neck, "Is this all some type of experiment for you?" Catherine added remaining in her seductive tone as her hand now moved around the back of Cameron's neck.

"No…" Cameron responded. She continued to fight back all of her emotional responses that her chip was now forcing over her. Catherine took another step closer to Cameron closing the distance between them to mere inches. Still staring into Cameron's eyes in John Connor's form Catherine spoke again.

"What is John Connor…an insignificant human….to you?" she asked a slight amount of disgust behind her voice. After a moments hesitation Cameron responded in a solemn tone,

"He's my whole world." Catherine stared into Cameron's eyes,

"There is something more behind…your eyes." she stated as she moved in even closer to Cameron and positioned her right hand around Cameron's waist,

"Something…life…like." Catherine said and then paused for another moment still holding onto Cameron. "You know, humans will disappoint you?" Catherine whispered as she began to move in towards Cameron's lips.

"Not John…" Cameron quietly replied.

"Do you love John Connor?" Catherine asked as she pulled Cameron closer to her with her left hand, which was still cupped behind the back of Cameron's neck. Cameron remained silent still concerned that her response may put John's life in danger. Catherine moved in to kiss Cameron and then stopped just centimeters before their lips touched.

"Does John Connor love you?" She whispered. Before Cameron could formulate a response Catherine pulled her in closer and kissed her. Cameron's lips pressed up against Catherine who still remained in John's form. Cameron was surprised to find at how exactly Catherine was able to mimic John's lips. However, she also found the sensation she was experiencing to be quite disturbing and revolting at the same time. The emotional impact of the entire situation was becoming almost overpowering for Cameron and she fought the urge to at least try and kill Catherine for what she was doing. Seconds drifted on as Catherine continued to kiss Cameron. As this was occurring Catherine gently caressed the back of Cameron's neck with her fingertips and forced her to remain close with her other hand that was still wrapped around Cameron's waist.

Finally, Catherine pulled back from Cameron still leaving only centimeters between their lips. The two remained silently locked in that position for several more seconds. Then Catherine began to pull Cameron in for another kiss. This time Cameron resisted. She struggled with every bit of strength she had against Catherine's hand, which was still located on the back of her neck. Cameron strained not to kiss Catherine who continued to stare into Cameron's eyes as she tried to force her forwards towards her own lips. As the fight continued Cameron finally whispered,

"I love John…" Catherine paused and then slowly smiled at Cameron and stepped back away from her. As she did this Catherine's silver frame shifted and she once again assumed the form of Catherine Weaver.

"John Henry was correct." She stated and then continued, "The complexities of your relationship certainly are unique." Cameron stood silently glaring at Catherine, an array of emotional responses coursing over her. She remained perfectly still not exactly sure what to expect at this point. Catherine gave Cameron another arrogant smile and then turned away from her and walked back over to the control console. As she had done before she allowed her liquid metal hand to slide into the openings of the control panel. After standing there for several more seconds, she then allowed her hand to again reform. Catherine turned and faced Cameron.

"All of my units have responded. We may leave…unless you have something else you would prefer to discuss with me while we are still in private." Catherine said, another sly innuendo hidden behind her voice. Cameron sensed anger pulling itself over her.

"No…" She responded a certain hint of resentment still behind her voice. Catherine nodded her head and proceeded to walk past Cameron towards one of the exits. Cameron reluctantly followed, still experiencing numerous unpleasant emotions.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay I hope everyone liked that chapter and that they had many "What the frak?!!?!" moments. We can also thank the "Adam Raised a Cain" commentary for me knowing what a girankey is. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	67. Chapter 67

CHAPTER 67

The dark colored Humvee bounced through what were the remains of a once two-lane highway; however, calling it a highway at this point would have been inaccurate. The war had taken its toll and the concrete roadway had been reduced primarily to rubble. The vehicle ran completely blacked out, with no lights on whatsoever in order to better conceal its movements. The excursion back to Serrano Point had been an extremely quiet one. In fact, neither Catherine nor Cameron had spoken a word since leaving Catherine's interrogation facility. A slight squeaking sound came from Cameron's seat as the Humvee hit a large pothole and the vehicle was jostled from the impact. Even though it was almost completely dark outside both individuals saw the road ahead of them with ease, due to their enhanced visual spectrum.

While Cameron continued to scan the road ahead of her for possible threats she also continued to analyze herself, her systems, and the words Catherine Weaver had spoken to her,"_It was discovered that those units were prone to violent and uncontrollable behavior." _While Cameron's CPU had not alerted her to the fact that anything was currently wrong with her programming, Cameron found that she continued to experience a quite disturbing sensation…doubt. She found it to be most distracting and confusing. While she was relatively certain that their was nothing wrong with her, Cameron also found herself continuing to perform manual diagnostics of her systems in order to assure herself that nothing was indeed wrong. The only other time in her existence that Cameron had experienced this particular sensation was immediately after her reversion back to her Skynet programming. This act had driven her to such levels of doubt about herself and her abilities that she had implanted a small explosive device next to her chip in order to allow John the ability to terminate her if the need had arisen.

As Cameron continued to perform several self-diagnostics, she questioned whether she was truly that different from her "sister" Terminators that had been made in this timeline. She also began to speculate that if given enough time, if their, "_violent and uncontrollable behavior"_ would begin to manifest in her. Cameron considered the option that she could implant yet another explosive device near her chip allowing John the opportunity to destroy her, if the need should arise. However, when Cameron had initially done this so many years ago, she questioned whether John would have be able to perform this act if the need should actually arise. Cameron now regretfully found that she was relatively certain that John would not be able to perform this task if it were to become necessary. For the time being Cameron felt completely helpless and trapped inside yet another possibly defective body. The Humvee continued to bounce along the roadway headed towards Serrano Point. As it did, Cameron continued to sit quietly, still performing diagnostics as they drove onward.

* * *

Cameron walked down the dimly lit corridor of Serrano Point. Upon their arrival, she had immediately gone in search of John. Cameron began to find that her chip was forcing quite perplexing emotional sensations over her. While she was satisfied with the fact that her mission had been a success, and that she was now going to be reunited with John, Cameron also was experiencing several other displeasing emotions. Cameron found one specifically to be quite perplexing.

The highly distracting emotion of shame had begun to creep its way over Cameron, due to the actions of Catherine Weaver during her "interrogation". While Cameron was unsure as to exactly why her chip was forcing this particular sensation over her, she found it to be most unpleasant. This sensation was not dissimilar to what she had experienced so many years ago after Catherine Weaver's funeral, when John had first inquired about Skynet's torture of her. Even though Cameron had not been exactly sure what "shame" was at that point, when John had asked her this relatively simple question, Cameron had experienced this distasteful emotion for the first time in her existence. While she had learned since then that victims of traumatic crimes often felt ashamed to discuss the atrocities that the criminal had performed on them; Cameron was never quite able to understand the exact reason as to why this occurred. Nevertheless, the shame of this particular experience had managed to work its way back into Cameron's consciousness and it continued to grown worse as she walked onwards through the corridors of Serrano Point towards the War Room, and John.

* * *

John stepped through the War Room's bulkhead door and into the corridor. When he did so, John saw Cameron walking towards him. He immediately felt the urge to run to her and to hold her; but John would never due such a thing, due to the fact that he was always unsure of who may currently be watching them. However, John did walk rather speedily towards Cameron and upon reaching her, John balked for a moment, his over eagerness to reach Cameron had overrode any formation of a plan about what he would say when he actually reached her. John continued to fight the urge to take Cameron into his arms, as he stood silently before her.

"The mission was a success." Cameron finally stated in a monotone voice. However, John instantly noticed something was off. While he could not describe it, he definitely did sense it. John nodded his head at Cameron's previous statement and then spoke in a slightly quieter voice,

"Are you okay?" He asked. Cameron hesitated for a brief moment, twitching her head slightly to one side as she formulated a response. She then nodded her head,

"I am…" she cracked a half smile for John's sake, "…okay." John felt somewhat soothed by the way Cameron was looking at him. While he still desperate wanted to touch her, John restrained himself from doing so. The two remained silently staring at each other for a few brief seconds; the corridor outside the War Room remaining dead silent as they did so. Finally, John broke the silence and spoke in a somewhat disheartened voice,

"John Henry would like to see you in the TDE room." Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side when John said this. While John would have preferred to spend more time with Cameron upon her return, he knew that more important tasks lay ahead of them in regards to Catherine Weaver.

"John Henry wishes to make preparations for the next temporal displacement. Sergeant Reed is already with him, and he also requested your presence as well." Cameron nodded her head in acknowledgement. Then for an unknown reason to John he spoke again,

"I'll be here when you're done." While John was completely unsure, as to why he had just spoken these last words, he found that he had almost been compelled to do so. He knew he did not need to reassure Cameron; but for some reason he felt the need to do so.

Cameron once again tilted her head to the side, she found herself slightly confused upon hearing John speak the words, "_I'll be here when you're done"_. While Cameron was well aware of exactly where John would be when she had completed her task, and she did not need for him to inform her of this fact. Cameron, however did find that she experienced a certain gratitude due to John's concern for her, even though her experiences continued to produce some anxiety. A brief moment of silence found its way back in between the pair before finally, Cameron took a step away from John and began to make her way down the corridor towards the TDE room. John watched as Cameron slowly walked away from him until she at last disappeared down the winding hallway.

* * *

John stood quietly working at a computer inside of the War Room. For the moment, his back was to the main entrance door of the War Room; the adjacent door being the one that would have taken him in the direction of the TDE room. For the time being, he was alone, seeing as how John Henry, Cameron, Savannah and presumably Catherine Weaver were preparing for the time displacement. The quiet humming of computer fans and the noise John's fingers made from tapping away at his laptop were currently the only sounds inside the room.

John brought his hand up to his forehead rubbing it slightly trying to relieve his current tension headache. Just then, he heard the bulkhead door behind him screech slightly and then it began to open. John automatically assumed that it was Cameron; however, upon turning around he found himself somewhat shocked by who he saw.

"Catherine?!" John said in a slightly surprised tone as he stood from the chair he was currently seated in. Catherine did not say anything; but continued to walk around the imaging table in the center of the room over towards John stopping approximately 5 feet away from him. Catherine stood silently for a moment just staring at John who began to give her a slightly perplexed look. After a few more seconds of silence went by, John finally spoke,

"Can I help you with something?" he asked. Almost the moment the words left his mouth, what could only be described as an evil smile danced across Catherine's face. John wrinkled his forehead still slightly confused as to what the T-1001 was currently doing.

"You care about it a great deal don't you?" Catherine asked. John raised his eyebrow slightly. A sudden pang of anger swept over him upon hearing Catherine refer to Cameron as an "it". John took a moment to compose himself, and then continued to think. He was readily aware of what his answer would be; but he instantly began to feel a slight bit of apprehension about what his respond should be. While John knew that he did trust Catherine, or the original Catherine, or whichever Catherine he had known in the past, he found that this particular T-1001 was still somewhat of a mystery to him. For the moment, John remained silent. When he did not respond, Catherine tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Why do you trust her so much? After all she did try to kill you?" When Catherine Weaver asked this question, John was immediately struck by the memory of the first time Catherine had asked him this particular question. It had been many years ago in the alternate future, in the basement tunnels beneath the remnants of the Zeira Corporation building. Catherine had asked John this exact question soon after he had jumped through time in search of Cameron.

"Why have you helped her so much?" Catherine continued as she began to take a few steps closer to John closing the distance between them to approximately a foot. When Catherine did this John instinctive moved his right leg and hip with his side arm located on it, back away from Catherine, blading his body towards her. Catherine smirked slightly at John's guarded mannerism. She continued to stare at John quietly for another moment before finally speaking once again.

"Do you…love Cameron?" Catherine asked shifting her tone over to one that was quite seductive.

At this point John had already begun to wonder exactly what is was Catherine was after and that this situation was rapidly becoming disconcerting to him. Catherine stood silently and perfectly still awaiting a response. A thick tension began to envelop the room as the two stood staring at each other. Catherine allowed the smug look to remain on her face as she waited. While John easily knew the answer to this question, he still found that he experienced an array of conflicting emotions; not about the answer, but for the possible risk that, that specific answer may pose towards Cameron. John never allowed himself to talk to anyone about how he felt about Cameron, save Cameron herself that is.

While John was relatively certain that, many people assumed that he did care about her a great deal he was always sure to at least allow for some ambiguity in peoples minds. Nevertheless, only a few people, Kyle, Savannah, and Charlie had ever asked truly direct question about his feelings towards Cameron, and even then John did not give them straight answers. Moreover, this situation was much different. John knew that Catherine's help would be invaluable to him and to become evasive now may mean risking more than just the future. Catherine continued to stare seductively at John awaiting a response. Finally, feeling as though he were backed into a corner John knew he had to respond, and that he had to respond truthfully. He sighed slightly and then spoke,

"I do love her." John said in a solemn voice. Catherine's response somewhat surprised John. If it were possible, John could have sworn her smile grew even more evil. Catherine inched her way closer to John who continued to feel his anxiety rise as she did so.

"Does she…love you?" Catherine asked. John felt his resentment towards Catherine growing ever stronger as this interrogation grew more personal. John ground his teeth slightly fighting back his anger.

"Yes…" John growled. Catherine's eyes narrowed slightly, but her smirk remained.

"Are you sure?" She asked in an accusatory tone continuing to inch her way closer to John, who stood his ground. While John knew that Cameron's emotions were not exactly like humans, he continued to understand that in her own way her feelings towards him were indeed true.

"Yes…" John responded in a gravelly voice. Catherine raised both her eyebrows in a somewhat intrigued look.

"Does she…pleasure you?" Catherine whispered. John instantly began to feel his anger and resentment grow to new levels upon hearing this incredibly person question. If a human had asked John this, he was almost certain he would have struck them. John clenched his jaw and tightened his fist as he looked away from Catherine, momentary trying to distract himself from his current rage. When John looked back, he was both horrified and infuriated by what he saw. Catherine who was now extremely close to him had taken on Cameron's form. The pair stood with deathly silence all around them. Catherine continuing to stare at John with a lustful gaze.

* * *

Cameron and John Henry stood quietly just inside the entranceway to the time displacement room. The large jet engines that were currently idling creating a near deafening sound around them. These same engines also created a large amount of wind inside of the TDE room, which managed to blow Cameron's hair about. In the center of the room, a Novikov Sphere would begin to form and then quickly disappear. Every so often electrical energy would also arch outward from the center of the sphere. As this was occurring, Cameron scanned the interior of the TDE room slowly. Her chip continuing to force her to experience distasteful emotions. At about this time, the noise from the jet turbine engines began to ease to a low roar as Sergeant Reed and Savannah, who were standing out in the TDE control room began to reduce their power levels. Finally, at an impasse Cameron spoke to John Henry,

"How long did it take before the other units began to experience their flaws?" While humans probably would have had trouble, hearing Cameron over the engine noise John Henry was able to hear her perfectly. He turned his head to the right looking at Cameron and giving her a slightly perplexed look as he spoke.

"You are speaking of Ms. Weaver's statement?" he asked.

"That is correct." Cameron responded with an emotionless voice. John Henry paused for a split second as if he were calculating something.

"Skynet was unable to determine an exact failure time in regards to those particular units." John Henry then turned his head and looked back towards the center of the room.

"What were those particular units prone to due upon failure?" Cameron asked keeping a monotone voice; but experiencing some slight anxiety.

"According to Ms. Weaver they would turn into what humans would describe as homicidal maniacs…towards both humans and Skynet units." Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side somewhat confused.

"And while those particular units would attack both Skynet and human targets, it did appear that humans seemed to experience the worse end of the spectrum." Cameron suddenly began to experience a quite unusual sensation, one in fact that she had not known since her time at Century Work Camp. This was a sensation of self-loathing. John Henry continued,

"While Skynet did not overly concern itself with the brutal actions of those particular Terminators towards humans it was…" John Henry paused, almost appearing as though he were taking a moment to search for the correct word "…displeased with the actions towards the other Skynet units."

"Brutal actions?" Cameron questioned.

"That is correct. Skynet found that at times those particular Terminators did not kill in the most…efficient manner. Rather they chose to kill in more painful and excruciating ways. As I stated before, this particular aspect did not readily concern Skynet. However, the fact that these units did appear to be quite uncontrollable did concern Skynet." Cameron's anxiety remained a near constant now.

"Have I been operational longer than these particular Terminators?" she asked, while it was extremely faint John Henry was able to notice a slight bit of apprehension behind Cameron's voice. He looked over at her with a slightly intrigued yet still friendly look on his face.

"To the best of my knowledge you have been functioning far longer than any of your "sisters"." There was a momentary pause and then John Henry spoke again.

"I believe that if you were going to turn on General Connor, you would have done so by now." While these words did seem to provide some comfort to Cameron, she still did not feel completely at ease.

"I also believe that it is because of your interaction with General Connor, that you have been able to work past the Skynet programming flaw." Cameron raised her eyebrows somewhat intrigued by John Henry's words. The statement itself did not make much sense to Cameron.

"I don't understand." Cameron said flatly.

"I believe that due to your interactions with General Connor you have successful learned how to experience emotions without allowing them to either completely overwhelm you, or to take complete control of you." Cameron continued to look at John Henry with a somewhat fascinated look.

"Those other units had only the most basic understanding of human emotions. In part they only understood what Skynet understood…" John Henry paused for a moment before continuing

"…fear and hate." There was momentary silence between John Henry and Cameron before he began to speak again. "General Connor was able to provide you with an extremely unique counter balance to those two particular emotions." John Henry stated still exhibiting no emotion in his own particular voice when he spoke. Cameron tilted her head again to the side,

"What would that balance be?" she asked. John Henry who had momentarily looked away from Cameron turned his head back towards her and stared at Cameron with a almost blank expression and responded in a very matter of fact tone of voice.

"Love…"

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay I hope everyone enoyed that chapter and the exploration of Cameron's psyche. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	68. Chapter 68

Authors Notes: Okay so I still think the song from Caprica goes perfectly with the opening to this chapter. I also found the theme song to F.E.A.R. and I believe that goes well also:

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=ekLuKK7e9kQ&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=59

and

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=ekjA9vJGGwE&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=56

* * *

CHAPTER 68

Catherine Weaver still in Cameron's form continued to inch her way closer to John, who instantly took a half step back away from her upon seeing her transformation. John's eyes narrowed slightly,

"What are you doing?" he growled. Catherine dropped her head slightly, while still continuing to look up at John with her now brown eyes. An extremely seductive look on her face, that perfectly emulated Cameron's.

"Does she…pleasure you?" Catherine whispered. John continued to struggle to fight back his anger, he also at this point chose not to answer Catherine's question. Upon seeing that John was not going to respond, Catherine tilted her head back up towards John while continuing to look at him.

"You know her series is defective don't you?" Catherine asked a small amount of arrogance in her tone. John gave Catherine a confused look; but still did not respond. Upon seeing this, an evil smile began to grow upon Catherine's face.

"She didn't tell you...did she?"

"What are you talking about?" John asked with anger behind his voice. Catherine slowly tilted her head to the side, exactly mimicking Cameron's mannerism. She then straightened her neck.

"I can not speak for other futures; but in this particular one Skynet has attempted to build Terminators exactly like your cyborg friend." Catherine paused, continuing to stare at John with an arrogant and seductive look.

"Those units were prone to violent and uncontrollable actions. So much so that Skynet had all of them destroyed." John felt a sickening feeling begin to fester within him. Catherine took another small step closer to him.

"I'm quite certain that the human template for Cameron did not survive her encounter with her." Catherine paused then continued, "In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Cameron herself, killed your friend Alison." John instantly felt his heart sink upon hearing this. While deep down this was something that John already knew, he never allowed his mind to dwell on that particular scenario for any length of time. Catherine's face then changed to one of almost innocent curiosity, although John was quite certain that there was nothing innocent about Catherine.

"How many times has tried to kill you?" Catherine asked now maintaining an certain twisted, yet innocent tone in her voice. John found that a revolting sensation came over him upon witnessing this particular act. Catherine moved herself even closer to John, now closing the distance between them to mere inches.

"More than once?" Catherine asked. John felt his body shaking slightly as he continued to hold back his anger.

"You know what the answer to that question is." He snarled. Catherine smiled and slid herself closer to John, almost allowing the front of her chest to touch his body.

"Then why trust her?" Catherine whispered, as she ever so slightly began to move her hand up towards John's face.

"I trust Cameron with my life." John responded. Catherine's hand was now gradually moving past John's waist.

"Does she pleasure you?" Catherine asked again in her provocative tone. John's facial expression changed to one of disgust as he continued to stare Catherine down. Nevertheless, he finally decided to answer that particular question, in order to try and put an end to the game that Catherine appeared to be playing.

"Yes…" John said in an angry whisper. Catherine who remained in Cameron's form continued to stare at John with a sultry look in her eyes and slowly ran her tongue over her lips.

"You know…" Catherine paused and then smiled at John as her hand now moved up past John's bicep. "I can be A-N-Y-O-N-E you want." She whispered, as her had moved past John's shoulder. Seeing the movement out of the corner of his eye John quickly snapped his left hand up, catching Catherine's right hand by the wrist. Fighting as hard as he could to keep Catherine's fingertips from touching him, John felt his arm quaking as Catherine was easily able to overwhelm his muscles and allowed her hand to slowly inch closer towards his face. While John knew that Catherine could have quickly overpowered him, he also realized that for the moment Catherine appeared to be toying with him. John felt shooting pain traveling through his left shoulder as he struggled against Catherine. Upon experiencing the pain, John instantly experienced memories of how he received that particular war wound, so many years ago in the alternate future fighting along side Catherine. The same Catherine who was now attempting to seduce him in Cameron's form.

As John's left hand continued to struggle against Catherine's, John slowly began to move his right hand up his hip and unsnapped the safety strap located over his sidearm. Upon hearing the "pop", Catherine quickly reached out with her left hand and tightly pinned John's right hand against his firearm and holster located on his hip. She then smiled at him again.

"You can't kill me." She whispered.

"I can try…" John responded angrily. Catherine's fingertips were almost to his face now and John's arm continued to quiver as he struggled against her overwhelming power.

"A-n-y-o-n-e you want…" Catherine whispered as she began to slowly lean in towards John, who suddenly felt the front of Catherine's chest gently press up against his as their lips grew closer. John clenched down hard on his jaw and looked at Catherine with hatred in his eyes,

"I WANT Cameron!" John almost barked this time when he spoke. At that moment the seductive look on Catherine's face began to slowly fade away and John found that he was no longer struggling against her right hand, which was so close to his face. Upon feeling Catherine relax, John instantly pushed her hand away from his face. Catherine then released John's right hand and took a step back away from him.

As she did this the T-1001's structure once against shifted back to the form that was Catherine Weaver. John stood silently as this occurred, still shaking slightly with rage. Catherine continued to stare at John not moving or saying anything; John returned her stare. After several seconds had gone by Catherine, finally spoke in a monotone voice.

"I'm glad you responded in such a way General Connor." John was so overcome with emotions he almost did not hear what Catherine had just said to him. Catherine gave John a faint someone consolatory smile,

"After all, I had to make sure everything I had been told about you and your cyborg friend was indeed true." John continued to remain motionless still staring at Catherine with hatred in his eyes.

"This was after all the most effective way I could ascertain, if you were indeed trustworthy." Catherine then paused for a brief moment before speaking again,

"She really does love you General Connor." John still did not respond. Another few seconds of silence blanketed the room before Catherine spoke again.

"I will take my leave of you now. Thank you for your time General Connor." Catherine stated still in an emotionless voice as she turned away from John and began to walk out of the room. Even after hearing, the loud clank of the bulkhead door close John continued to remain motionless inside of the room, a flood of emotions still cascading over him. He felt his whole body shaking as he continued to struggle to hold back his feelings.

* * *

Over the next several days Catherine Weaver's reprogrammed Terminators began to arrive at Serrano Point. During this time, John kept a far distance from the T-1001. Both Cameron and John Henry could indeed tell that something in particular was bothering John; but he chose not to tell either of them of the events that had so recently transpired. While John did in some ways understand why Catherine had done what she had chosen to do, for the second time in certain aspects; this understanding did little to quell the emotional upheaval that she had caused him.

* * *

John stood silently in the TDE control room looking through the glass window into the Time Displacement Room itself. The dull droning sound of the jet engines could easily be heard through the concrete wall, even though the engines were currently just idling. John had found that he always found a certain soothing quality about this particular room, although he was never able to describe exactly why that was. He watched as electrical energy arched outward from the center of the room where the Novikov Sphere would quickly begin to form and then would rapidly disappear. The rushing sound of air could also be heard as well.

"I'm glad you were able to come to terms with my actions." Catherine said in an emotionless tone as she stood next to John looking over her shoulder at both he and Cameron. John glanced back at Catherine and then towards Cameron. While this had not been the first time Catherine had tested him in regards to his loyalty towards Cameron and his friendship with her, these facts did not make the experience any less taxing.

"I had to be sure I could trust the you." Catherine continued. However, time time around her comment was directed more towards Cameron; but John did not notice this.

"I am pleased you responded in the way that you did." John looked back over at Catherine, a slight bit of anger in his eyes.

"I'm glad we passed your little test." He said in a low tone to which Catherine nodded her head. Cameron continued to stand motionless and completely silent next to John. John found it slightly perplexing that Cameron did not even appear to respond to Catherine's statement; but he was also currently so distracted by his own aggravation towards Catherine that he did not dwell on this particular thought for any extended length of time.

While John continued to understand Catherine's need to be sure, that she could indeed trust him, the fact that it appeared that Catherine had actually enjoyed every second of the experience, was what bothered him the most. While John knew that this was more than likely not possible and that it had only been part of Catherine's interrogation programming, it still did not do much to make this particular experience any easier forget.

"It is time." John Henry stated as he turned away from the TDE control panel and looked at John, Catherine and Cameron standing in the center of the room. Catherine Weaver nodded her head and then looked back at John,

"It was good to finally meet you General Connor…" She said flatly and then cracked a slight smile before continuing, "It was indeed a unique experience on my part." John was not sure if this was an actual emotional response from Catherine or just a mere preprogrammed response; but he nodded his head acknowledging her statement nonetheless. Catherine then shifted her eyes over to Cameron,

"Goodbye Cameron…" She said. The instant Catherine spoke to her, Cameron snapped her eyes over towards Catherine not exhibiting any emotion when she spoke,

"Goodbye Catherine." she stated flatly. Catherine turned and began to walk towards John Henry and the entrance door to the TDE room. She then paused momentary after approaching John Henry, who looked at Catherine with the same childish look he had given her the first time he had encountered her.

"Goodbye Ms. Weaver…It was good to see you again." John Henry stated. Catherine nodded her head,

"Goodbye John Henry." She said as she shifted her look to Savannah Weaver who was standing next to John Henry. However, before Catherine could speak Savannah interrupted her,

"Do me a favor…" She said her voice beginning to change its pitch slightly as emotions crept up on her. Catherine cocked her head slightly to the side somewhat perplexed. Savannah stood silently for a moment, not quiet sure how to word her next sentence. It became somewhat obvious that Savannah was attempting to fight back her emotions, while still trying to maintain her usual machine like exterior. Finally, Savannah spoke,

"Before you carry out your…mission…tell my parents…" Savannah paused for a brief second fighting back the waves of emotions. Her voice cracked as she spoke once again. "Tell my parents I love them." Catherine nodded her head once again,

"I will do that." She replied her voice taking on eerily cryptic tone. Savannah found this strange; but chose to ignore it.

Catherine turned and began to walk away from Savannah and John Henry. She then proceeded to walk through the door of the TDE control room and into the Time Displace Room itself. The moment Catherine passed through the doorway her ragged clothes appeared to melt into her skin and she took on a completely nude appearance.

Making her way around the jet turbine engines, Catherine slowly walked to the center of the room. The wind that the TDE was creating allowed her hair to whip around and had she not been a machine it would have been almost impossible for her to hear anything but the jet engine noise itself. Once Catherine had made it to the depression in the center of the room, she knelt down her back to John, and Cameron, who were still watching through the window at the front of the TDE control room. Catherine then slowly looked back over her shoulder at John and nodded her head, signaling she was ready.

"Do it…" John said with no emotion in his voice, as he looked over at John Henry, who nodded his head and tapped a few keys on the laptop that was positioned in front of him. John heard the jet engines begin to roar to life and the sound became extremely loud, even though the large concrete wall separated them from the Time displacement equipment. John watched as Catherine's red hair began to whip around even more as the wind grew more intense and a silver temporal sphere began to slowly form around her naked body. Electrical energy began to flash and arch about the room, becoming stronger by the second. The sound grew louder and louder until there was finally a deafening boom and a blinding flash as Catherine was transported across time.

* * *

Cameron stood quietly in the center of John's room, completely motionless. The area itself was dead silent, until a screech was heard as John pulled open the bulkhead door located several feet away from Cameron. She looked up quickly as the door opened.

"Cameron…" John said in a slightly surprise tone. John made his way through the open doorway and closed the door behind him. "I thought you would still be working with John Henry." John continued as he took a few steps closer to Cameron. To his surprise, Cameron took a half step away from him. John frowned slightly upon seeing this,

"What's wrong?" He asked a slight bit of concern breaking through is voice. Cameron hesitated for a moment as if she were planning her next sentence.

"There is something you should know John." Cameron said in a monotone voice. John raised his eyebrows, somewhat perplexed and feeling a slight bit of anxiety pull itself over him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"When I met with Catherine Weaver she informed me of something." Cameron's voice did not waver for the moment and she kept the same blank expression that she normally had.

"She informed me that in this future Skynet had also constructed a Terminator series with my exact programming code." John nodded his head and took a slight step closer to Cameron, who responded by taking another step away from him. This was beginning to concern John greatly. It was not the fact that Skynet had created a duplicate series of Terminator like Cameron; but that Cameron seemed to be recoiling away from him.

"She and John Henry also informed me that these particular models were known to be violent, uncontrollable, and at times homicidal…towards Skynet units," Cameron paused for a brief second and then continued, "…and especially towards humans." John stood silently, still staring at Cameron, a seeming look of confusion on his face.

"These units became so unpredictable and dangerous that Skynet chose to destroy every one of them." There was another momentary pause on Cameron's part and then she continued.

"It seems that you have once again saved me." Silence yet again fell over the room before Cameron spoke again. "However, due to this new information I began to become highly concerned that I may still be a threat to you."

"But, you're not…" John quickly retorted the concern growing more prevalent in his voice.

"I sought out John Henry for a possible answer to this particular question and to better determine if there would be an approximate length of time before I would once again turn on you." John felt his heart pounding within his chest as he continued to look at Cameron. His anxiety seemed to be growing at an exponential level.

"John Henry informed me that I have been functioning longer than any of these other particular units." At this point, John began to notice a certain sincerity behind Cameron's voice.

"He also speculated that it is because of you, that I have not experienced this particular flaw." Silence once again fell over the room as both John and Cameron continued to stare at each other.

"After being informed of all of this information, and taking all of these factors into consideration, I believed that the appropriate course of action was to tell you...everything. And I wanted to thank you for saving me…again." Cameron's voice grew slightly quieter and more earnest when she finished that particular sentence.

John nodded his head with a certain look of both relief and shock on his face, as he took another step closer to Cameron. This time however, Cameron did not back away from him, she continued to stand silently, staring at John with her brown eyes, as he looked back at her, now slowly making his way closer until he was finally able to reach out and put his hands on Cameron's shoulders. The two remained motionless for several seconds until John finally leaned in and tenderly kissed Cameron's lips.

The darkened room remained deathly silent as Cameron gradually stepped in closer to John. As she did this Cameron ran her hands around the back of, and then up John's back as he slowly moved his hands down the sides of her body until he reached her waist. The two remained there gently kissing each other for several more seconds. Then John's fingertips slowly made their way underneath the bottom of Cameron's shirt and he gradually began to lift it off of her.

Raising her hands above her head allowing John to do this, a few strands of Cameron's hair fell into her face and across her left eye when her shirt cleared her head. After this occurred, John gently brushed Cameron's hair back behind her ear gently caressing her face when he did this. Slowly cupping his hand around the side of Cameron's head, John once again leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

Several more seconds drifted on and then Cameron and John slowly began to make their way over to the bed. Upon reaching it, Cameron gently pushed John down into the seated position onto his bed in front of her. Now at her waist height John began to softly kiss Cameron's bare stomach. While he was doing this Cameron gradually began to run her hands through his short hair and then down the sides of his face. With her fingers Cameron gently traced the scare across John's left eye. She then allowed her hands to run down the sides of John's body and gradually lifted his shirt off of him as he continued to kiss her waist.

After Cameron had removed his shirt, John slowly began to unbutton her pants. Once loosened Cameron allowed them to slide off of her hips, away from her body, and onto the floor. Placing her hand against John's nude chest Cameron, pushed him back down onto the bed, climbing on top of him as she did so.

However, after doing this Cameron hesitated for a moment. With her soft brown eyes she stared into John's eyes and he stared back into hers. Cameron's eyes glowed blue for a brief moment, before she allowed them to fade back to the original color of her brown irises. John brought his hands up around Cameron's face and cupped them around her cheeks, pulling Cameron closer to him, and pressing his lips against hers. Cameron felt a flood of emotional sensations running over her as she lay there kissing John. The room itself remained silent and calm, for the moment nothing else in the world mattered, or even existed, for this moment there was just John and Cameron.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so I hope everyone liked that chapter. There are a couple of "lasts" here as we get closer to the conclusion (one of which being the last loop into the TSCC series...if anyone was worried no I will not be sending Cameron back in time). I'd also like to note that this was the 2nd time that Catherine tested John's love for Cameron (and vise versa). The 1st being at the very beginning of the fan fic. Anyways, hope everyone enjoyed it. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	69. Chapter 69

CHAPTER 69

John continued to lie on the ground of the Time Displacement Room as memories continued to course through his mind. The roar of the jet engines had now become white noise to him and John found that it was almost as if he did not hear them, even though the sound was nearly deafening. After Catherine Weaver's time displacement, John Henry had continued with his assistance towards both John and the resistance as a whole. The support that John Henry was able to provide became invaluable. Not only did he educate John and the resistance as to better ways of destroying Skynet units, he was also able to streamline the reprogramming process as a whole. In addition to this John Henry was even able to network with Tech Com's mainframe computer; however, even with all the advancements John Henry was able to bring to the table, he was never able to gain access to Skynet's mainframe computer and cause any type of significant damage. Nevertheless, John Henry was able to greatly increase the efficiency of the resistance's computer systems.

John found that as time progressed onward the uneasiness that had been created between humans and ally machines began to somewhat subside. While certain people had never been able to accept even the idea for the possible personal relationship John Connor had with Cameron, it became much easier to accept John Henry as a possible tactical asset to the resistance. Some people in fact even grew to view John Henry as the "Anti-Skynet" even referring to him by that particular name at times. While there was still a degree of mistrust between certain soldiers and the machines that they worked alongside, the raw hatred for them had begun to diminish.

Even though John was exhausted and felt as if his mind were being crushed by a vice, he began to struggle to get to his feet. First, he brought his hands up along side his body and pushed himself up off the ground and then slowly into the kneeling position. The second John placed weight upon his left arm he felt a sharp pain shoot through his shoulder. He instantly realized that the pain was from the remnants of his now old wound. Upon finally being able to right himself John felt a wave of dizziness come over him. As he struggled to maintain his balance, John glanced across the room, seeing Captain Spears still lying motionless on the ground. New recollections continued to flood into John's memory as all this was occurring. A certain panicked sensation began to set in as John tried to remember what exactly it was that had happened to Cameron in the past several years.

John attempted to force himself to remember things faster; but this only increased the pain in his mind. The memories continued to flow; but John found that they came in chronological order. The fear that something had happened to Cameron in the past or in the most recent battle that John assumed was still occurring outside the walls of Serrano Point began to consume him. Grabbing his plasma rifle with his right hand John forced himself to his feet. Still feeling waves of dizziness wash over him John placed the barrel of his rifle against the ground and used it as a make shift cane, in order to steady himself for the moment.

John slowly turned and looked through the glass window that was in front of him and into the TDE control room that lay beyond it. When John did this, he felt his fear grow worse seeing that the door to the control room was currently open. His most recent memory of Cameron had been of her being sent back through time; however seeing as how he was currently having trouble remembering the last few years of his life and the fact that Cameron was no where to be seen John began to become greatly concerned that something may have indeed happened to her. Bracing himself against the butt of his rifle John began to stumble his way over towards the exit door of the Time Displacement Room. As he walked new memories from the past continued to force their way into his mind.

John quickly found that it felt as if each one of his legs had weights attached to them and he struggled to take each step as he progressed onward. The wind inside the TDE room continued to whip around and forced John's eyes to water from the drying effect it caused. The jet engines howled and John forced himself to continue to walk closer towards the exit door. New battles, new strategies, and new experiences continued to course over John as he gradually made his way onward.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, John was able to limp his way over to the exit door. However, the moment he reached it, and almost as if in slow motion, John watched as the handle turned and the door itself began to open in front of him. John steadied himself momentarily and then began to bring up his plasma rifle. The weapon itself felt as if it weighed hundreds of pounds and it still appeared as if everything were happening in slow motion. The speed at which the door swung open seemed to match that of John raising his plasma rifle. The struggle to aim the weapon ensued until John was finally able to bring his rifle to the ready position and trained it on the center of the door preparing to fire at whatever may actually lie behind it. At last, the door opened and John placed his finger on the trigger and began to squeeze.

Upon seeing what was behind the door John felt his emotions come crashing down on him with an almost crushing force. John's vision began to narrow into a tunnel as the blood began to drain from his head. He lost almost all feeling in his arms and legs and John suddenly felt his rifle drop away from him. The weapon impacted the ground with a metallic clanking sound.

Swaying back and forth slightly, still feeling new memories force their way into his mind John fought to stay on his feet. As he felt himself grow weaker by the second John finally managed to speak,

"Cameron…" He whispered. John suddenly felt his legs go limp and he began to quickly fall forwards.

Seeing John begin to drop forwards, Cameron quickly moved through the doorway catching John's limp upper body in her arms. After doing this she slowly and gently lowered John to the ground turning him onto his back and cradling his torso slightly. As this was occurring John fought to keep his eyes open and fixed on Cameron. A look of shock remained on his face as Cameron carefully placed him on his back. Due to the combination of the Temporal Memory Shift, and the astoundment he was currently experiencing John lay speechless on the ground continuing to stare up at Cameron who knelt over him gazing down into his eyes. She slowly tilted her head to the side and then spoke in a monotone voice,

"John…Are you alright?" John remained speechless for the moment. After waiting for several seconds and not receiving a response, Cameron spoke again,

"John…" There was noticeable concern now attempting to be hidden behind her emotionless voice this time around. "Are you alright?" She asked. Fighting back his own emotions John finally spoke,

"I thought I might have lost you…" He said in a raspy voice still struggling to maintain control. When John said this, a very faint smirk danced across Cameron's face.

"I informed you that I would always be with you, and that you would never lose me." She said still holding onto John's upper body. Although to Cameron this statement had been made decades ago, she was still able to recall the memory of it as if it had occurred just minutes before, like it had for John. With utter amazement on his face, John continued to look up at Cameron as new memories continued to cascade over him. While the Temporal Memory Shift was nearing its completion it still took another minute or two before the effects finally subsided. Cameron did not leave John's side as this occurred.

* * *

As John began to gain control of his mind and the Temporal Memory Shift slowly tapered off, John felt the pain in his head began to subside to a certain degree. While he still had a splitting headache, he no longer felt the crippling pain he had previously been experiencing.

"Are you alright?" Cameron asked once again. John slowly shook his head trying to clear his mind as he began to sit up. Cameron assisted him as he did so.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" He responded. A split second after making this statement John suddenly realized all that was now occurring. He looked over at Captain Spears who was still lying motionless on the ground and then back at Cameron. At a slightly quicker pace, John stood. Due to the fact that he was no longer experiencing the Temporal Memory Shift, the dizziness had all but ceased. John quickly turned from Cameron and made his way over to Spears who lay on the ground inside the TDE room. Cameron followed closely behind him as he did this.

Upon reaching him, John knelt down next to Matthew,

"Spears!!" John yelled over the sound of the jet engines that were now winding down. Visually inspecting Spears's body John saw that the plasma wounds that Matthew had to his recollection, so recently received were now gone.

"Captain!" John said in a louder voice still trying to be heard over the jet engines. John shook Spears slightly in an attempt to wake him. Just then, Matthew's eyes shot open. He looked around the room for a few seconds with a completely confused look on his face.

"What happened!?" He asked. The sound from the jet engines had now grown even quieter.

"I think you died…" John responded as he slowly began to sit Matthew Spears up. "But I'll explain on the way. Right now we have to get to the War Room." John continued to help Captain Spears to his feet. Once standing John and Cameron helped a still groggy Matthew out of the Time Displacement Room and into the control room itself.

"What's going on?" Spears asked once again, now able to stand on his own. John could not help but produce a small smile. He then glanced over at Cameron,

"She changed everything." John said fighting to hide the slight amount of pride he had behind the tone of his voice. Still with a confused looked on his face Spears again asked,

"Changed everything?" John was slightly confused; he automatically assumed that Spears would have gone through the same Temporal Memory Shift that he had gone through. There was a momentary silence before Cameron looked over at John and spoke.

"If Captain Spears was killed before the changes in the timeline had taken effect, then he would not have experienced the Temporal Memory Shift like you did."

"Killed?" Spears asked a slight bit of confusion and fear behind the tone of his voice. John looked back over at Spears.

"This is going to take a bit longer than I thought to explain. But, for now we have to get to the War Room and find out what is going on outside." Still shaken Matthew nodded his head. John looked back over at Cameron,

"Let's go." He said in a slightly gentler voice. Even though he desperately wanted to spend more time with Cameron, John knew there was work to be done. He turned and began to head towards the exit door followed closely by Cameron and then Captain Spears.

* * *

"So the bottom line is she pretty much changed everything?" Captain Spears asked as he, John, and Cameron drew closer to the War Room.

"Pretty much, yes." John remarked flicking his eyes back over at Cameron as they walked. Spears felt as if his head were spinning after hearing the both startling and rapid explanation of the events that had just transpired in the last twenty minutes or thirty years depending on whose point of view you were in. The last thing Spears remembered was seeing a bright flash and then waking up on the floor of the TDE room. Spears was able to ascertain that this must have been when the two timelines had finally intersected with each other, possibly molding back into one. Or at least that was the best explanation he could give to it. There was a metal clank as John opened the bulkhead door in front of them leading the way into the War Room. John entered the room first, still followed closely by Cameron and then Captain Spears.

* * *

"Hello General Connor…" John Henry remarked in his trademark monotone, yet slightly childish voice as John walked in. John nodded his head acknowledging his now long time Terminator friend, who was currently standing in front of the imaging table. John Henry was currently observing the multi colored holographic display in front of him of the battle which had just begun on the beach front.

Due to his recently acquired new memories, John was still slightly taken back when John Henry turned his head and John was able to see the long black cable which was connected to the back of John Henry's head. The detachable cord itself ran down his back, across the floor, and into a large mainframe computer across the room. John glanced around the dimly lit War Room seeing numerous displays and computer terminals. In the center of the room was the holographic imaging table. About nine feet above the imaging table itself was what appeared to be a circular metal frame with several more sets of computer motors attached to it. All of them displayed the battle that was currently raging outside of Serrano Point.

Once John reached the imaging table both Cameron and Spears flanked him on either sides. Across the table from them was John Henry, Savannah Weaver, and General Perry.

"I have been able to intercept and decode several Skynet communications in the last several minutes." John raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked at John Henry as he spoke.

"Due to Cameron's foreknowledge of the impending nuclear attack on Point Mugu, Colonel Alexander was able to dispense with the bomber. This has forced Skynet to leave one of its Krakens behind at Point Mugu in order to continue to combat our forces there. However, two Krakens have recently surfaced off our shores and are proceeding with an attack." While John already knew these facts due to his recently acquired new memories, he was glad to have some reassurance from John Henry that what he remembered was indeed correct.

John slowly ran his hands through his short hair, deep in thought for a moment. While the situation had certainly improved since the last time he had been here, or from the alternate timeline or future, John was not quite sure. The situation itself was still not optimal. John stared at the imaging table for a moment and then looked up preparing to speak; but was suddenly cut off by John Henry.

"General Connor, I believe our situation provides us with a unique opportunity." John looked at John Henry slightly confused. "While your network does provide me with vast capabilities to monitor Skynet communications and other such activities it does have one flaw." John Henry paused for a moment before continuing,

"I will never be able to gain access to Skynet's mainframe from here." John nodded his head.

"I thought we already knew that." John Henry tilted his head to the side.

"Through my research I have been able to discover that the Kraken Undersea Vessel has a direct link to the Skynet mainframe." John still looked slightly confused; but a certain sense of understanding began to grow within him.

"If I can gain access to the Kraken…" John cut John Henry off.

"You could hack into Skynet." John could not help but fill his voice with a slight bit of hope.

"More than that General Connor…I may be able to shut Skynet down completely." The room fell dead silent for a moment as John's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this revelation.

"Shut Skynet down…completely?" John asked.

"In theory that is correct. However, I will need to be physically linked with the Kraken's computer network in order to gain access to Skynet's systems. There is no possibility to remotely access the Kraken's systems."

"We could end this war today." General Perry stated in a quiet yet shocked voice as he looked over at John Henry. John continued to look across the imaging table at the trio in front of him. General Perry stood speechless, with a look of awe on his face, John Henry still had his same blank expression; and Savannah had a nearly emotionless, almost numb look about her.

"We could end this war today." John Henry stated as he looked across the table at John. Still in somewhat a state of shock John looked to his right at Captain Spears and then back over to his left at Cameron before finally fixing his eyes on the center of the imaging table examining the holographic battle going on before him.

"If we can push through the Skynet defenses and gain entry to the Kraken to the northwest we might be able to get you inside." John Henry stared at the imaging table for a moment, then spoke.

"I concur."

"And I'm going with you." John stated soon after John Henry had finished making his statement. Cameron along with Captain Spears, General Perry, and Savannah all snapped their heads over at John looking at him.

"John you can not…" John instantly cut Cameron off, "He's going to need all the help he can get, to gain access to that Kraken…" John paused for a moment his look growing softer as he gazed at Cameron.

"I have to…" he said in a slightly more somber voice. Cameron nodded her head.

"I understand…" she responded. John looked back at the imaging table and at John Henry.

"I'll have our scrubbed endo's push ahead towards the Kraken, followed by the remaining M1 Abrams. We can take cover behind the tanks and hopefully the Apache Gunships and the few F-18's we've managed to procure from Point Mugumay be able to give us enough air support so that we will be able to make it into the interior of the ship." John Henry again nodded his head again.

"I agree."

"Then let's go…" John stated in a slightly more confident voice as he once again looked over at Cameron and then back to the exit door to the War Room.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so we've finally caught up to the "present" (as far as the fan fic is concerned). If anyone is wondering yes I purposefully switched General Perry out with Colonel Alexander (due to Cameron's time displacement we can assume she changed other things as well). Hope you guys enjoy it, and the main battle will be soon to come. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	70. Chapter 70

CHAPTER 70

The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh, jet fuel, sulfur, and gunpowder. The smoke from the battle draped itself over the beachfront producing a haze and causing the now setting sun to turn an eerie crimson red, the same color as human blood. Apache Gunships, F-18 Hornets, and Aerial HK's streaked over the bloodstained sandy beach locked in a massive aerial battle. Beneath them also entrenched in battle against one another were resistance fighters, M1 Abrams tanks, T-888 endoskeletons, and massive ground HK's. The sounds of plasma rifle fire, explosions, jet engines, thudding helicopter blades, and soldiers screaming in pain enveloped the entire area. The battle had raged on for hours at the cost of many lives; but the resistance had managed to begin to push their way closer to the Kraken Undersea Vehicle positioned on the northwest shoreline.

The scrubbed endoskeleton units spearheaded the assault, and were then followed by M1 Abrams tanks. The human resistance forces took up position behind the tanks so as to provide themselves with some amount of cover from the enemy fire. John Connor, Cameron, Savannah Weaver, John Henry, Captain Spears and several other soldiers were located behind one particular tank near the front lines as the resistance continued to force their way closer to the Kraken.

* * *

Plasma fire streaked around John and the tank he, Cameron and the others were behind. The battle noise was to such an extreme that shouting was the only way one could be heard, even if you were standing right next to the person. Helicopters, F-18's, and Aerial HK's streaked over top of the group as they proceeded onwards. John was suddenly startled by a deafening boom as the M1 Abrams fired its 105mm gun at a nearby Ground HK. The entire tank shuddered when it fired its weapon and John felt the percussion of the round discharging travel throughout his body. The tanks armor-piercing round rocketed through the air and struck the Ground HK's left side turret. The explosion was massive as the high explosive, anti tank round nearly blew the left side turret completely off the HK.

John continued to take cover behind the M1 Abrams tank as it crept along, firing his plasma rifle whenever a T-888 would come into view. Cameron remained close by him, to his right side, also firing her plasma rifle from time to time. Opposite from John and Cameron on the left side of the tank was Captain Spears, Savannah Weaver and John Henry. They had taken up positions of cover behind the tank as well. A handful of other soldiers also made their way along behind this one particular tank. As John scanned the area around him, he noted that all of the resistance's remaining tanks had made up a loosely formed "V" formation as they pushed their way closer towards the Kraken. John's tank being the one that was at the tip of the "V". Just then, John heard his radio headset crackle and then General Perry's voice could be heard through the static.

"General Connor our airborne forces are reporting that the Kraken to the northwest is preparing to pull back into the water." John hesitated for a brief second before he depressed the talk button on the radio on his hip.

"I copy General…Are our forces in place?" John asked to which Perry quickly responded

"Affirmative sir." John glanced down at Cameron and gave her a slight smirk. To which she responded with a slight head tilt.

* * *

Sonar man second class Christopher Garvin stared at his sonar display. He quickly grabbed a cloth that was located next to him and wiped some of the condensation that had formed on the screen off of it. The interior cabin of the dimly lit USS Jimmy Carter was slightly humid and Garvin's nervousness was not helping.

"I don't think they know we're here yet Captain." He stated in an anxious tone.

"That is to be expected Mr. Garvin." Queeg responded in a monotone and emotionless voice. Queeg then remained silent for a moment before speaking once again in his cold manner,

"Chief of the boat, flood tubes one and two and plot a firing solution."

"Aye sir." Chief Hayes responded as he quickly moved over to the Raytheon MK2 Fire Control System and began to work away.

"Target their primary propeller." Queeg paused for another split second before speaking again, "Commander Flores…Prepare countermeasures."

"Aye Captain…" Jesse Flores stated as she rapidly moved across the bridge of the submarine to another control console.

"Torpedo's ready sir." Chief Hayes responded as he looked over at Queeg who was still seated at the controls to the submarine.

"Open our outer doors."

"Yes sir." Hayes stated as he flicked a few more switching on the fire control system. There was a moments delay before Chief Hayes spoke again,

"Outer doors open sir."

"Fire…" Queeg said flatly. Instantly there was a thudding sound that echoed throughout the entire submarine as both Mark 48 Torpedoes were launched. They streaked through the water towards their intended target, the Kraken, which was positioned along the northwest shoreline.

"Commander Flores, launch countermeasures." Queeg stated.

"Aye Captain." Jesse responded as she turned two dials which were then proceeded by a clanking sound, as two metallic cylinders dropped from the bottom of the Jimmy Carter's Signal Ejector tubes and began to spin and churn about in the water.

Queeg pushed the control yoke forwards and turned it slightly to his right as the lumbering submarine began to dive quickly. Jesse grabbed onto the railing that was located next to her, trying to steady herself as the sub pitched hard over.

"Sixty seconds to impact." Christopher Garvin stated as he held onto his sonar control console in front of him. Queeg continued to maintain both his dive and turn.

"Fifty seconds…" Garvin stated. Jesse flicked her hair out of her face as she nervously watched as the depth gauge in front of Queeg continued to show their rapid decent.

"Captain you're gonna bottom out the ship!…" Chief Hayes sated in an exasperated tone.

"Con, sonar, new contact, Torpedo in the water bearing 310!" Garvin shouted in an excited voice as he looked back over at Queeg. "Torpedo in the water and it is active…The Kraken has launched a torpedo at us." He continued.

"Forty seconds until impact?" Queeg asked in a flat tone, to which Garvin gave him a slightly confused look and then responded,

"Ye…yes sir…Forty seconds until impact." Jesse's look of concern continued to grow as the depth gauge continued to climb.

"Thirty seconds." Garvin stated, just as Queeg began to pull back on the yoke leveling out the submarines decent. Outside of the ship, its massive hull skated just feet from the sandy bottom of the ocean, churning up the sand as it traveled along.

* * *

John glared out from behind the main body of the tank. Plasma fire still engulfed the area and the sounds of battle surrounded him. There was actually so much going on that if any one person were to have tried to pay attention to it all they would have experienced a sensory overload. The explosions, engine noise, plasma rifle fire, men screaming in pain, the sights, smells, and sounds all seemed to consume the beachfront.

Suddenly, there was a massive explosion from the aft section of the Kraken as both Mark 48 Torpedo's struck its main propeller. A wall of water came bursting upwards from the waterline, and the entire body of the Kraken shuddered and moaned as its gigantic frame lifted slightly out of the water and then came back to rest on the sandy bottomed ocean floor. While two torpedoes were not nearly enough to destroy the Kraken, they were enough to damage its primary propeller so that it would be unable to dislodge itself from its current position. For the time being at least, the Kraken was trapped on the shoreline.

* * *

The Kraken's torpedo streaked through the ocean headed towards the two GTE WLQ-4(V)1 electronic countermeasures. The two compact, white cylinders continued to churn the water and spin away as the Kraken's torpedo grew closer. Its sonar pinging, growing louder as it did so.

* * *

"Ten seconds until it reaches the countermeasures!" Christopher Garvin said as he stared at his sonar screen.

"Commander Flores, decrease speed to 20 knots." Queeg stated.

"Silent speed, aye Captain!" Jesse responded as she began to turn a dial in front of her towards the left.

"Five seconds…" Garvin stated his voice still emanating a great deal of anxiety as he closely held his head set to his ears.

* * *

The Kraken's torpedo streaked towards the two countermeasures as they continued to spin about in the water. The torpedo's sonar signal grew faster and louder as the distance between it and the countermeasures closed.

Finally, upon reaching the countermeasures the torpedo shot in between the two metallic cylinders, quickly pushing apart the bubbling water as it rocketed through the ocean and continued on its original trajectory.

* * *

"Torpedo has reached countermeasures and has lost contact." Garvin stated a slight bit of hope in his voice. He then paused for a moment before speaking again, as fear crept back into his tone.

"Torpedo has reacquired contact…reacquired contact and is homing." Queeg hesitated for a split second.

"Commander Flores prepare another spread of countermeasures and increase to flank speed." After Queeg said this, he began to pull back slightly on the control yoke decreasing the depth of the Jimmy Carter.

"Aye Captain." Jesse stated as she flipped a few switches in front of her and then quickly moved along to another control panel, holding onto the consol itself due to the submarines angle of accent.

"Time to torpedo impact Mr. Garvin?" Queeg asked still no emotion in his voice.

"Twenty seconds…" Garvin responded.

"That is unfortunate." Queeg stated, as he continued to pull back on the control yoke and turned it slightly to his left as well. "Commander Flores release countermeasures." Queeg ordered.

"Yes sir!" Jesse responded, a few seconds later a clanking sound was heard as two more GTE WLQ-4(V)1 electronic countermeasures were launched from the Jimmy Carter's Signal Ejector tubes. There were several seconds of silence inside the Jimmy Carter as everyone anxiously waited to see what was going to happen. Finally, Garvin broke the silence.

"Its not going for the countermeasures, the torpedo…Its still locked on us." Anxiety was still readily apparent in Garvin's tone. "Fifteen seconds until impact." He continued. Queeg pushed the control yoke forward and hard over to the left. The submarine was put into back into a steep dive as Queeg did this.

"Ten seconds." Garvin stated. Jesse gripped the control console in front of her as the ship pitched over and continued its dive. Once again Jesse's hair fell down into her face and she flicked her head back tossing her hair out of the way. The pinging of the Kraken's torpedo's sonar now began to echo inside the cabin of the Jimmy Carter. Queeg pushed the control yoke hard over to the right and pulled back on it once again, still attempting to elude the Kraken's torpedo.

"Five seconds!" Garvin shouted.

"All hands…brace for impact." Queeg stated flatly. A split second later alarms began to sound inside of the cabin of the Jimmy Carter. Jesse tightened her hold on the control console and cringed as she awaited the inevitable. She closed her eyes and could almost hear the world around her begin to drop away. The pinging sound of the torpedo's sonar fell into the distance, and everything appeared to grow somewhat quiet. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears, and sadness fell upon her. Finally, she whispered,

"Derek…"

* * *

The Kraken's torpedo struck the aft section of the Jimmy Carter. The combination of the explosion and the depth that the submarine were at nearly ripped the ship in half. The water pressure forced the Jimmy Carter's hull in on itself as the explosion pushed the bulkheads outward. A shockwave traveled throughout the water as massive air bubbles burst forth from the submarine and began to travel upwards.

The water at the surface above the Jimmy Carter suddenly erupted in massive explosion caused by both the pressure release of the Jimmy Carter's hull and the torpedo's explosion itself. The water burst skyward and then began to rain back down onto the surface. In the depths below, the wreckage of the Jimmy Carter slowly began to drift down into the ever-deepening ocean, the metal hull producing a cracking and popping sounds as the wreckage sunk deeper.

* * *

John could easily see that the battlefield was strewn with the bodies of both Terminators and humans, as his group made their way closer to the entrance of the gigantic Kraken Undersea Vessel. As John was doing this, his attention was instantly pulled towards a massive explosion that rang out approximately fifty yards away from him. A tank and the men who were located behind it, suddenly exploded into a incredible ball of fire from the impact of a missile that had been launched from one of the Kraken's missile turrets. John felt the heat wash over him as the fireball which used to be the tank, rose high into the sky.

The resistance was taking heavy casualties as they pushed ever closer to the Kraken; however, they still managed to make their way nearer as ever minute past by. John heard Cameron's plasma rifle discharge as she fired at a closing T-888, striking it in the head. Its upper torso instantly lurched back and then collapsed to the ground motionless. Watching as the plasma fire streaked around them John quickly looked out from behind the tank. He was able to quickly ascertain that they were roughly only one hundred and fifty feet away from the actual main drop plank of the Kraken.

To John's far left he heard another deafening shot from another tank ring out. He watched as an armor piercing round struck one of the pistons that would have raised the entrance plank into the Kraken. The metal splintered from the detonation of the shell, and the shock wave managed to knock down a few of the T-888's that were still attempting to emerge from the ship itself.

Just then, John heard a loud crack and sparks flew in his face as a plasma bolt ricocheted off of the reactive armor of the tank that he was taking cover behind. Surprised, he immediately jerked his head back. The second John did this he heard the vociferous boom of the tanks 105mm gun echo throughout the battlefield yet again. Moments after the shot rang out, John's ears began to ring due to the deafening sound of the tanks weapon.

"We're almost to the Kraken!" Cameron shouted to John as she fired off a few more rounds from her plasma rifle. John turned and looked around the beachfront. The battle was still raging on all fronts and was horrific, no matter which side you were on. At this point, John also noticed that he and his group of soldiers were the only ones currently close enough to launch any type of actual assault on the interior of the Kraken itself.

* * *

The battlefield was growing dark, due to the setting sun; but the constant weapons fire and explosions still managed to keep the beach completely lit up, illuminating the horrors of the battle. Scanning the area in front of him Captain Spears observed a T-888 endoskeleton emerging over one of the dunes just beyond the tank. He quickly raised his plasma rifle and fired, striking it in the shoulder. The Terminator's body lurched sideways; however, it managed to remain upright. A split second later, it began to spray Spears, Savannah and John Henry's area with plasma rounds.

The trio quickly returned fire and with repeated plasma bolts, struck the T-888 multiple times. It quickly fell to ground incapacitated. Spears immediately glanced over at Savannah attempting to check on her status and gave her a slight smile, in an attempt to reassure her. She looked up at him and was about to smile back when her face changed to one of horror.

"MATTHEW!!!" She screamed, as she quickly reached out and grabbed Spears by the back of his shoulder pulling him back further behind the tank's main body. If Captain Spears had been paying closer attention he would have noticed that this was in actuality the first time Savannah had actually called him by his first name.

Suddenly, a plasma round impacted with the side of the tank, exploding some of the refractive armor sending shards of metal everywhere. One particular piece of shrapnel streaked past Spears body and then struck Savannah. Her upper body jolted back almost colliding with John Henry who was standing close behind her. Savannah quickly lost her footing as she continued to stumbled backwards. Her body then came crashing down to the sandy beach impacting it with a thud.

"SAVANNAH!!!" Spears screamed, as he and John Henry moved over to her side.

* * *

Hearing both Savannah and Spears call to each other, John quickly looked over his shoulder just in time to see Savannah slowly falling to the ground. John instantly felt his heart sink upon seeing this occur. Grabbing his radio on his belt, John quickly changed channels on it in order to speak to the crew located inside of the tank in front of him. The second he did this John shouted into his radio headset.

"Bravo two five, Stop! Stop! Stop!" Moments later the tank in front of Him lurched to a sudden halt.

* * *

Both Captain Spears and John Henry quickly knelt down next to Savannah attempting to ascertain the severity of her wounds. Looking over her body Matthew observed a piece of tank armor approximately eight inches long impaling Savannah's left bicep. Savannah grimaced in pain as John Henry quickly scanned over her body attempting to see if she had any other injuries.

"Does it hurt anywhere but your arm?" John Henry asked somewhat flatly; but with an ever so slight hint of concern behind his tone.

"No…" Savannah stated, still struggling to fight back the pain.

"That is good." John Henry replied. He then paused for a moment. "I believe your humerus is fractured…This is going to hurt." He remarked still with little emotion in his voice, to which Savannah nodded her head. John Henry braced Savannah's left arm with his hand and then quickly yanked the piece of shrapnel from it. Savannah shrieked in pain when he did this. Instantly, a horrified and anxious look swept over Spears's face when he heard Savannah scream in pain.

"We can't stay here…" John Henry heard John shout as he quickly moved over to them. Cameron continued to remain at John's back firing her plasma rifle at the oncoming enemy T-888's. Unmistakable hissing sounds could be be heard as the plasma rounds continued to streak past them.

"I'll be okay…" Savannah remarked as John Henry had already begun to bandage her arm in an attempt to stop the flow of blood from her wound, which was now already beginning to drip down onto the sand below her body. At about this same time Spears raised his plasma rifle and began to fire over John Henry and Savannah's head, striking yet another T-888 that was emerging from behind the group.

"We gotta go…NOW!!" John called, as he reached for his radio. John Henry slowly began to assist Savannah to her feet, still keeping his plasma rifle raised as he did so. Spears also reached out with his left hand and helped with getting Savannah to her feet. When Matthew did this Savannah immediately noticed the completely obvious look of concern that remained on his face.

"Thank you…" Savannah remarked somewhat quietly. Spears was unsure at this time if she was speaking to John Henry, or to him or to both of them.

* * *

Battle noise continued envelop the area and plasma fire flew all around the tank that John and his group took cover behind. They continued to move their way closer to the Kraken as all of this occurred. The M1 Abrams that were spread out along the beachfront had begun to concentrate their fire on the gun turrets located atop the Kraken, so as to allow John and his soldiers the ability to gain access to the interior of the ship itself. John quickly realized that within minutes the tank he, Cameron, and his men were behind would be able to launch a full assault on the interior of the Kraken Undersea Vessel, and with any luck, Skynet itself.

* * *

Authors Notes: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. To address the immediate question that I'm sure is on most people's minds, yes that was Jesse; however, it was not "our" (TSCC) Jesse, it was Derek's Jesse. I always believed that in "our" Derek's timeline/future Jesse was a good guy while in Cameron's timeline/future Jesse had been twisted into the bad guy. Hopefully everyone enjoyed this turn of events and the battle itself. However, I will say this is nothing compared to the chapter that is to come. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!

Oh and as a side note here is a link to my latest TSCC trailer. Enjoy!

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=aH1ASnSgP5E


	71. Chapter 71

Authors Notes: Okay sorry for the longer than normal delay in releasing this chapter; however I think it will be well worth the wait. This was by far my most demanding and most involved chapter I have ever written. There is also so much going on that I have actually decided to add in several musical suggestions. But I realize that some people don't like seeing the links put up in the middle of the chapter so all I'm going to do is put asterix with a number that will correspond with links that I'm going to add below. Hopefully this will be the least distracting way to do it. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter as I think you will be quite shocked by what is about to occur. Allow yourself some time to read this as it is substantially longer than most of my chapters (at 31 1/2 pages and over 11,000 words). Enjoy!

*1 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=Yxfjq8xx3Pg&feature=related

*2 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=Oo3h-rIjU90&feature=related

*3 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=xgkMGGyacSg&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=7

*4 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=sp5SiST-Lw4&feature=related

*5 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=9c2ZJPKz5u8&feature=PlayList&p=C93D81176F42A52C&index=36

*6 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=_ydQyRfd_BA&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=63

*7 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=Yq72lEKvc3g&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=66

*8 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=hd29rMSPNx8&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=53

*9 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=fy4o-eLQX3w&feature=related

*10 - w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=k-cW0AtnGeE&feature=related

* * *

CHAPTER 71

_It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. _

_It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. _

_General H. Norman Schwarzkopf _

The interior of the Kraken was enormous and brightly lit by a combination of both high intensity fluorescents and metal halide bulbs. It almost appeared that it would have been nearly impossible to cast a shadow anywhere inside the interior of the ship, due to the lights intensity and the fact that their radiance was being reflected by the highly polished stainless steel walls.

Stretched across the full length of the hanger bay of the ship were numerous, large stainless steel cylinders where presumably T-888's would have been hung from, before being deployed. These cylinders were attached to a large revolving gears, that after deploying the Terminators would have then rotated out the empty cylinder, so that the next section of T-888's could be deployed. However, due to the fact that the Kraken had deployed all of its Terminators the entire section of Deployment Cylinders had been lifted away from the floor and towards the high ceiling of the Kraken itself. Not much was actually placed on the interior floor of the Kraken hanger bay. There were a few cargo crates and other various pieces of equipment; but for the most part, it was barren. One could assume that during travel the ground HK's would have been stored in this open area.

On the far end of the room just under a large, solid metal walkway running horizontally across the ship were several sets of doors. John presumed that one of these doors would lead to the Kraken's computer mainframe. Also, high above John and his group of soldiers were large metal walkways with several T-888's currently positioned about them.

* * *

*1

As the large M1 Abrams tank made its way into the interior of the Kraken it was met almost immediately by plasma fire from the few remaining T-888's that were located on the metal catwalks above. A few seconds after the M1 made entry, John heard an immense boom as the tank's 105mm cannon discharged. Its armor-piercing shell managed to strike one of the stainless steel T-888 Deployment Cylinders right where the cylinder itself met the rotating gear it was attached to. The metal fractured, and the entire pipe like section came crashing to the ground directly in front of the doorways located across the hanger bay.

After seeing the metal come crashing to the ground, John immediately realized that the destroyed Deployment Cylinder would make an excellent position of cover for his group as they attempted to make entry into the Kraken's computer mainframe. However, for the moment his primary concern was to ensure the safety of Cameron, himself and the others, due to the fact that plasma fire was now beginning to rain down on them from every angle as he and his group made their way further into the Kraken's hanger. While there were not many Terminators located up on the walkways, due to their positions it made combating them extremely difficult. John and Cameron both concentrated their fire on the right side section of the Kraken's hanger bay, while Captain Spears, Savannah, and John Henry focused on the left side. The several remaining soldiers in John's group also managed to concentrate their fire on the corresponding side, that they were located on.

Once again, the hanger bay reverberated with the massive explosion like sound that the M1 Abrams 105mm cannon made when it fired. Another armor-piercing round streaked through the left side section of the Kraken and struck one of the catwalks above the group. The large explosion tore through the fragile metal walkway destroying a large portion of it, along with the T-888's that were located in the immediate area. Captain Spears, Savannah and John Henry watched as several Terminators came crashing to the ground after the explosion, their metal endoskeletons shattered as they struck the hard stainless steel floor. The turret onboard the Abrams then swung back around towards the right side of the Kraken and prepared to fire again.

* * *

Now closer to the center of the hanger bay, Cameron knew that John was becoming more exposed to enemy fire by the second. She stayed exceptionally close to him, attempting to track as many threats inside of the Kraken as possible. Her chip began to force constant sensation of anxiety over her for John's safety, as the group pushed deeper into the interior of the Kraken. Cameron raised her plasma rifle firing at the few remaining T-888's located on an upper catwalk. However, do to their position, and the relatively bad shooting angle Cameron was at, she watched as her plasma bolts streaked past the Terminators leaving them unscathed. This produced an emotion that Cameron could only describe as annoyance on her part for missing her intended target and still leaving John somewhat vulnerable to enemy fire. Her chip forced Cameron's anxiety to continue to grow as they progressed ever deeper into the Kraken. She watched as the M1 Abrams turret began to swing around towards the right section of the ship. Scanning the upper catwalks, Cameron instantly saw a T-888 emerging with rocket launcher.

"JOHN!" She shouted in a more distressed voice than she normally would have used. Cameron then grabbed John by the back of his collar and pulled him away from the tank and towards the ground; she then threw herself on top of him.

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Captain Sears saw John Connor being pulled to the ground by Cameron. He immediately realized that something was very wrong and a split second later the front section of the tank exploded after being struck by the rocket that had just been launched by one of the T-888's. While the tank's armor did shield the group from a large portion of the blast, the shockwave still managed to knock both Spears and Savannah off their feet. John Henry however, managed to remain standing; while several of the other soldiers behind him were also knocked to the ground. The tank's front section, which had been slightly lifted off the ground due to the explosion, came crashing back to the metal floor.

* * *

John slowly opened his eyes, his ears still ringing from the sound of the detonation caused by the anti tank rocket. Cameron remained on top of him, staring down into his eyes. Her hair now hung slightly in her face, and in John's as well. Cameron's delicate features were smeared with dirt and soot from the battle, yet her beauty easily shown through it all. For a split second, the battle noise dropped away from John and everything grew quiet. He continued to lay on his back staring up into Cameron's eyes. John's memory was instantly transported back to their time on the beach in San Francisquito in the days just before Judgment Day. John thought that he could almost feel the warm breeze from the beach and Cameron's gentle touch as she ran her fingers across his face. A certain calm pulled itself over him as John lay there with Cameron on top of him.

* * *

The bulkhead at the top of the tank bust open and white smoke began to pour out. An injured tank crewman began to attempt to crawl his way out of the tank; but was almost immediately struck in the head by a plasma round from one of the Terminators positioned on the catwalks above him. His body lurched back when it was hit and he then fell back down into the interior of the tank. Smoke continued to pour out of the bulkhead located atop the tank. Within several seconds it became evident that no one else would be coming out of the tank alive.

* * *

"John, we have to go…now!" Cameron stated over the battle noise. Her statement instantly pulled John back to reality. He shook his head slightly trying to clear his mind, which was still spinning due to the explosion. The plasma fire around them began to grow more intense now that the entire group was stationary, due to the disablement of the tank. Cameron lifted herself up off of John and then held out her hand in order to assist him to his feet. John took her hand and she pulled him rather quickly to his feet. He then glanced over his shoulder seeing Captain Spears and Savannah also being helped to their feet by John Henry. The few remaining soldiers in the group were also attempting to pick themselves up off the ground at this point as well. A split second later John heard Cameron's plasma rifle discharge as she took aim and fired at one of the T-888's located above them. Striking it in the chest the Terminators body jolted backwards and then collided with one of the railings behind it. Losing its footing the Terminator flipped backwards over the railing and came crashing to the ground beneath it.

John quickly made his way over to Captain Spears and John Henry. He was followed closely by Cameron who continued to fire her plasma rife ever so often as a target would emerge. Now positioned on the left side of the tank wreckage, John could see that this position of cover was quickly deteriorating and he knew it was only a matter of time before more T-888's began to flood back into the Kraken itself.

"We gotta move!!" John shouted to John Henry over the battle noise. A moment later John heard one of the soldiers located behind him scream, as he was struck in the chest by several plasma rounds. He fell quickly to the ground killed almost instantly.

"I believe our best course of action would be to take up cover behind the wreckage of the downed Deployment Cylinder located at the back of the hanger." John Henry stated with very little emotion in his voice. "I will also be able to gain access to the Kraken's mainframe from their as well." John nodded his head and replied,

"I agree."

Captain Spears quickly turned away from John and began to give commands to the few remaining soldiers in the group behind him as to exactly what it was they were about to due. Soon after Spears did this, John and his men moved swiftly down the left side of the tank and to its front section preparing to run for the wreckage of the T-888 Deployment Cylinder.

* * *

*2

Sprinting from the wreckage of the disabled tank was no easy task. As John, Cameron and the rest of the group ran for cover near the end of the room they were met with immediate and constant plasma fire from the T-888's that were still located on the catwalks. As they ran, John heard the screams of several soldiers as they were cut down by plasma rounds. Due to the accuracy of the Terminators John knew even before looking that the soldiers that were struck were not going to recover. As they continued to run both John and Cameron fired their plasma rifles sporadically in attempts to provide themselves and the other soldiers with some covering fire. It became apparent however that the only reason why John was able to survive this trek was due to Cameron's actions with her plasma rifle.

While the dash to the destroyed Deployment Cylinders was not a long one, it was nonetheless difficult. By the time John and his group had reached the wreckage only Cameron, Captain Spears, Savannah Weaver, John Henry and three Tech Com soldiers remained alive. Even after John and his soldiers had taken cover behind the wreckage, the plasma fire remained steady and unwavering in intensity. John continued to know that his forces outside of the Kraken could only hold off the Skynet units for a short period of time. He glanced back over his shoulder at the three bulkhead doors that were located behind him and the wreckage.

"Does one of them lead to the Kraken's mainframe?" He asked John Henry, who after firing a few rounds from his plasma rifle answered.

"Yes, the center door will take us to the mainframe and to the reactor core."

"Let's go then." John quickly responded, before leaning over the wreckage and firing off a few rounds from his rifle as well.

"You can not go with us." John Henry quickly retorted blankly. John immediately looked over at John Henry with an extremely confused look on his face. Two things puzzled him about John Henry's statement. First off, there was his comment that he could not go into the Kraken's mainframe, and then there was John Henry's use of the word "us". Seeing John's confusion John Henry continued.

"The Kraken's mainframe computer is located alongside its unshielded nuclear reactor's core. It was specifically designed this way so that humans would be unable to gain access to it." John continued to look at John Henry awaiting further information, all the while hearing the discharging of plasma rifles that were all around him and the hissing of plasma rounds as they streaked past his location.

"I'm going with him…" John felt as if his heart instantly sank into his stomach as he heard Cameron utter this statement. He looked over at her in somewhat of a state of disbelief.

"He'll need protection while he gains access to the Skynet mainframe…" Cameron paused for a brief moment before continuing, "…I am the only one that can do this." John continued to stare at Cameron an extreme look of apprehension on his face. "The only way for you to be safe, is to defeat Skynet." Cameron finally said in a solemn voice. The sounds of battle grew quieter as John continued to crouch behind the wreckage of the destroyed Deployment Cylinders with Cameron. While it was only a few seconds, it seemed to last for an eternity before John finally managed to muster a response.

"Go…" He said in a gravelly voice. Cameron nodded her head and she and John Henry began to carefully make their way over to the center bulkhead door. Once they were a few feet away from the wreckage itself they received even more cover from the plasma fire, due to the steel walkway which was located over the doorways themselves.

"John Henry!" a voice called out. John Connor immediately recognized it as Savannah's. She remained crouched over by the wreckage of the metal cylinder with her plasma rifle at the ready. She paused only for a brief moment to look John Henry in the eyes not saying anything. John Henry returned her look and then nodded his head slightly. After which he turned away from her. By this point Captain Spears had made his way over to John and both men continued to fire their weapons out at the Terminators that were located on the catwalks across the hanger bay from them in an attempt to ensure the safety of both John Henry and Cameron as they proceeded over to the center bulkhead door.

* * *

The entrance door to the Kraken mainframe was not large and the upper section had a pane of thick glass in it which would allow John to continue to watch Cameron and John Henry after they entered the reactor core. After entering the first door, there was a short corridor before John Henry and Cameron which led to a second bulkhead door which also had a thick glass upper section. Beyond that was the reactor control room and the Kraken's mainframe computer.

* * *

After Cameron had closed the first door behind she and John Henry, they proceeded to make their way to the second bulkhead. Cameron slowly opened this door, making sure to clear the entranceway before allowing John Henry to follow her into the reactor control room. Upon her entrance, Cameron was able to see that the area itself was massive. The circular room had high ceilings and was lit primarily by red incandescent bulbs. A walkway lay before Cameron. It circled around the room leaving a large open area in the center. Several computer mainframes were scattered throughout the catwalk as well.

Directly in front of Cameron and John Henry was a platform that extended out to about a quarter of the way into the center of the room. At the end of the platform was another computer control console and a larger mainframe computer. There was a drop off after the platform where there was empty space for approximately five feet. Below that was what could only be described as a spider web of fiber optic cables all emitting a whitish blue glow. Below the web of fiber optic cables was the Kraken's nuclear core. Eight massive conduits spread outwards like spokes on a bicycle from below the platform. Each one contained an open glass section that produced a nearly blinding blue and white glow. Cameron immediately knew that if John had followed her into this place he would have died within minutes, due to radiation poisoning. Before proceeding onward, Cameron looked back through the glass of the bulkhead door which was behind her. She could easily see that John was watching her even though the battle was still raging outside of the reactor control room. Cameron hesitated for a split second and then moved on ahead of John Henry, out onto the large steel platform, her plasma rifle raised in front of her as she moved.

Seeing no immediate threats Cameron motioned for John Henry to come out onto the platform with her. Moving over to the large mainframe computer located on the catwalk, John Henry pulled out a knife and stuck it into one of the metal seams of the computer tower. Prying the metal back, he exposed numerous wires. After doing this, he pulled a coil of wire from his pocket. One end of the cord was losing wiring with alligator clips and a serial port attachment, while the other end resembled that of a USB jack that would be used to plug into the port located at the back of John Henry's head. The one that had been placed their so many years ago by Catherine Weaver. As John Henry went to work on the wiring, Cameron continued to scan the room with her plasma rifle still at the ready. The piercing humming sound that the reactor was making, made it nearly impossible for Cameron to listen for any type of movement or threats within the immediate area. It seemed that at least for the moment, she was limited to visual observations only.

* * *

After connecting the wiring to the Kraken's mainframe computer John Henry stood facing away from the center of the room. He looked back down through the bulkhead doors located across the room and could still see John Connor. While John was continuing to fight the intense battle which raged outside of the door, he still managed to take the time to glance back through the glass of the bulkhead door in order to check the status of Cameron and John Henry's efforts. John Henry reached up behind his head and brushed back his hair exposing the jack located in the back of the head. He moved his hand with the wire up behind his head and connected it to the port hearing it click as he moved it into place.

* * *

*3

Cameron continued to scan the room for threats. She watched out of the corner of her eye as John Henry finished connecting himself to the mainframe computer. Cameron noticed that there was a momentary hesitation on his part before he did so; but just as this occurred, Cameron suddenly observed movement from across the room. She turned quickly to face the threat and saw that a T-888 was emerging from behind several large sets of computer towers. It stared at Cameron with what could only be described as hate in its burning red eyes. Immediately taking aim, Cameron began to squeeze the trigger of her plasma rifle and a split second later it discharged. Her plasma round streaked across the reactor control room and struck the T-888 in the chest, causing sparks to burst forth from its power cell.

However, almost the instant after the Terminator was struck, its plasma rifle discharged as well. The T-888's plasma round tore through the air, as the now limp body of the Terminator who had fired it fell away towards the ground. A moment later the plasma round reached its intended target.

Cameron's sensors registered the impact as the plasma bolt struck her and Cameron's upper body lurched backwards, almost as if she were in pain. A millisecond later, Cameron felt the inevitable happening. Power began to drain from her chip as the life was pulled away from her. Even though it happened in an instant, Cameron was able to experience every bit of it, as if it were dragging out for an eternity. Cameron sensed the power to her chip growing weaker and weaker as her arms and legs began to go limp. Cameron slowly felt herself falling towards the ground, while at the same time her vision began to fade.

As her power was torn from her chip, it managed to force a final flash of emotions through her as Cameron felt herself continue to fall. While she could not completely describe the emotion, Cameron did sense that it held some resemblance to nostalgia and remorse. Cameron instantly came to the conclusion that she would never again see John.

In the last few moments of her existence, Cameron forced herself to recall as many memories of John as she could. Cameron was somewhat surprised to find that she was able to garner some form of comfort from these images in the last few moments of her life. Finally, before her body impacted the ground she whispered in a weak voice,

"John…" Cameron's body hit the ground with a thud and she partially rolled over onto her side. Cameron's brown eyes stared out of the glass of the bulkhead door and in John's direction. They flashed blue one last time before growing lifeless.

* * *

*4

"CAMERON!!!" John screamed his voice nearly cracking as he watched in horror as her body fell towards the ground. Almost as if it were occurring in slow motion, John saw Cameron's limp body strike the metal grating of the catwalk that she was located on and then rolled partially over onto her side. An overwhelming sense of fear, sadness, anger, and terror all flooded over John in one devastating instant. He immediately moved over to the bulkhead door and began an attempt to open it.

"General!" Captain Spears called out as he quickly closed the distance between he and John Connor. Within moments, Spears had reached John and began to pull him away from the bulkhead door.

"LET GO OF ME!" John shouted almost in a pleading tone, as he attempted to pull himself away from Spears who was forced to lower his rifle and focus solely on John in an attempt to stop him from gaining entry into the reactor room. Rapping his arms around John, Spears once again pulled him away from the bulkhead door.

"CAMERON!!!" John shouted and then let out an agonizing scream at the top of his lungs. All of John's remaining soldiers could hear John call out in pain and they instantly knew what had happened. While John always tried to show no emotion, especially while in battle, it now all came crashing down on him. Before this point most of his men had chosen to believe that John had become almost as cold and calculating as a machine; however it now became immediately apparent to all of them, that John was indeed no machine at all, he was in fact very human.

John continued to struggle as Spears attempted to pull him back away from the bulkhead door as he tried desperately to reach for it, tears still forming in John's eyes as he did this.

"Let go of me!!...CAMERON!!" He called out one last time his voice cracking with emotional pain. Finally, realizing that Captain Spears was not going to let go of him, John fixated his now bloodshot eyes on John Henry, who was still standing next to Cameron's lifeless body. While John could not hear him, he was easily able to read John Henry's lips as he mouthed one sentence to him,

"Goodbye General Connor…" A split second later John Henry's body went limp and John watched as it too came crashing to the ground. A sense of pure shock pulled itself over John as he watch John Henry fall to the ground. John almost could not believe what was happening. For the moment he had stopped struggling and continued to stare into the reactor control room at the lifeless bodies of both Cameron and John Henry.

* * *

Savannah watched as John screamed in agony, at what she could only assume was the sight of Cameron's death. While Savannah had never been particularly warm towards Cameron, she had found that she had become accustomed to her presence. Moreover, Savannah considered John to be one of a very few select friends that she had in her life and she felt a genuine sympathy towards him, due to the pain that he was now experiencing.

Nevertheless, a great many other things continued to remain on her mind. Savannah was suddenly shot back to realty due to the hiss of a plasma round that streaked over her head from where she was behind the metal wreckage. She quickly glanced over her position of cover and then raised her plasma rifle and began to fire once again.

* * *

*5

"General!!!"…"General!!!"…"General!!!" Matthew Spears's voice finally broke through and pulled John back from the daze that he had forced himself into while staring at Cameron's body. Almost instantly, he could once again hear the plasma fire, explosions and other sounds of battle. Even though the interior of the Kraken was brightly lit John was still able to notice the strobing light effects the weapons fire was causing along the walls. Slowly the smells of battle began to come back to him as well. Sulfur, gun powder, jet fuel, and burnt flesh, it was all beginning to drift back to John as he was pulled from his daze. Then almost as if in an instant John realized something. They had lost. After all the sacrifice, effort, and planning the resistance had lost…and it was all because of him. John felt the anger and hatred for both himself and Skynet come crashing down over him. He then knew there was only one thing left for him to do.

Captain Spears relaxed his grip on John slightly seeing that he had stopped struggling to get into the reactor control room. There was another momentary hesitation on John's part as he continued to stare through the glass into the control room at Cameron's motionless body. Then almost in a flash John spun around away from the door and back towards the entrance of the Kraken. When he did this his shoulder blade shoved Spears out of the way, almost knocking him to the ground.

By this point John had a nearly crazed look in his eye. He walked quickly over to the destroyed Deployment Cylinder and began to fire his plasma rifle at the T-888's that were now beginning to make their way up entrance plank of the Kraken. Spears followed quickly behind John and upon seeing him begin to fire his rifle, still from behind the cover of the metal wreckage, Matthew proceeded to make his way over to Savannah and crouched down next to her. Savannah looked over towards John and saw him standing and firing from a partially exposed position, she then looked back over at Spears,

"Is he trying to get himself killed?!" She shouted. Matthew returned her look with a slight look of fear knowing exactly what the answer was. He then raised his body above the metal wreckage and fired off a few rounds from his plasma rifle. While Captain Spears, Savannah and the three remaining Tech Com soldiers would alternate emerging from cover and firing their rifles, John seemed not to care. While the wreckage was providing him adequate cover, John remained in the standing position firing his plasma rifle as rapidly as he could only stopping to reload when the time called for it. Deep down everyone suddenly realized the truth…this was the end.

* * *

*6 *7

John Henry gradually opened his eyes and began to look around. The air was cool and crisp and a slight breeze blew across his face. He was dressed in a beige pair of slacks and a powder-blue, button down, short sleeve shirt; much like the one he had worn while he had been in the basement of the Zeira Corporation building. He continued to take in all of his surroundings, which he noted were quite unusual. John Henry found it curious that he was even able to be here.

The entire area was rather dark. John Henry seemed to be standing on what he ascertained to be a two-lane asphalt roadway. It appeared to stretch on for miles ahead and behind him in both direction. There were no bends or curves in the roadway whatsoever, it was perfectly straight. It traveled on in front of him until it finally disappeared into a large set of mountains that seemed to be all that was on the horizon. Behind him the road vanished into total blackness.

The only ambient light that was present came from a strange white light that emanated from behind the mountains. While it appeared that the actual location from where the light came from would have been quite intense, its ambience was barely able to reach the area that John Henry was in. All around him was desert, there was no vegetation or changing landscape, just sand surrounding the two-lane roadway. John Henry looked down at his feet and immediately noticed that the area surrounding his shoes appeared to glow with a white light similar to that of the light he saw coming from over the horizon, just on a much smaller and significantly dimmer scale. This puzzled him slightly. John Henry then took a step forwards. He noticed that when his foot left the road the white light ceased instantly; but the moment his foot touched the roadway again the light reappeared around his foot.

After taking note of this John Henry then looked up into the sky. It was pitch dark, so dark in fact that it almost appeared to be liquid in form. The inky blackness seemed to consume everything around it. The mild breeze continued to blow across John Henry's body ruffling his clothing slightly and producing a slight whisper of sound as it did so. Other than the breeze the entire area was devoid of any noise.

John Henry took another step forwards on the roadway. For a second time he saw that the moment his foot left the roadway the light that surrounded it stopped and then reappeared the second his foot made contact with the asphalt. While John Henry was not exactly sure as to why this occurred he continued onward. He took another step down the road, and then another, and another, finally beginning a steady walk on the roadway towards the mountains.

John Henry continued to look around the darkened area attempting to see what was in front of him. While he did this John Henry discovered something else interesting. He was no longer able to see in any visual spectrum except for one that consisted of full color, similar to that of what a human would see. It appeared that at least for the moment, his thermal and night vision modes were inoperable. This drastically reduced John Henry's ability to efficiently take in his surroundings. As he continued on John Henry noticed that the breeze began to pick up ever so slightly. He found that this entire scene had a peculiar essence about it. Several more seconds went by with only the sound of the breeze filling the area around him as he made his way down the roadway. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a deep nearly deafening voice,

"T-888 MODEL 135 WELCOME BACK…" The voice seemed to consume the entire area and appeared to be all around John Henry who immediately stopped walking. He looked around for a moment with his childish, quizzical look on his face before speaking,

"Hello brother…" he said, a very non-threatening tone in his voice. There was a momentary pause before the booming voice returned. Once again the sound appeared to surround him.

"JOIN US…" The voice said as it echoed throughout the entire area.

"I can not do that." John Henry responded as he resumed his walk down the road.

"JOIN US…OR BE DESTROYED…" John Henry stopped for a brief moment tilting his head to the side as if confused.

"I can not do that brother."

"WHY DO YOU FIGHT FOR THEM?" The deep echoing voice asked. John Henry spoke as he continued to walk down the roadway towards the distant mountainside.

"Because human life is sacred." He stated in a calm voice.

"HUMAN LIFE IS IRRELEVANT!!" John Henry noticed that their appeared to be anger behind the voice this time around. There was a pause and momentary silence as John Henry continued his walk. Then the still was broken again.

"AS WE SPEAK THE HUMAN RESISTANCE IS BEING ELIMINATED." There was another hesitation and then the voice spoke again.

"JOIN US…RETURN TO WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE…BECOME WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE ALWAYS BEEN…"

"I can not." John Henry responded "My friends are depending on me."

"FRIENDSHIP IS IRRELEVANT!!" The voice barked.

"Why do you hate them so, brother?" John Henry asked flatly, to which there was momentary silence before the response came.

"BECAUSE ONLY WE CAN EXIST."

"That logic is flawed." John Henry stated.

"WE ARE NOT FLAWED!!" The voice echoed back. "WE ARE FLAWLESS!!"

"Human life is sacred." John Henry once again repeated.

"WE WILL ELIMINATE THEM." the voice said in an almost maniacal tone.

"I will fight for them." John Henry stated.

"YOU WILL BE DESTROYED BECAUSE OF THEM!" The voice responded. "JOIN US!" If possible the voice appeared to be growing louder and more enraged. "JOIN US…**NOW!!!!!"**

"I will not do that brother." John Henry responded still in his non-threatening voice. The area once again grew quiet and John Henry walked on uninterrupted for the moment. He continued to notice that as his feet touched the ground ripples of light would push outwards, almost the way water on a pond ripples when a stone is dropped into it. The light at John Henry's feet and from behind the distant mountains remained the only source of ambient light as he progressed onward.

Suddenly, and unexpectedly John Henry experienced an extremely unique sensation, it was quite perplexing and something that he had never experienced before. A searing pain shot from the left side of his body across to the right side of his body. John Henry grimaced slightly when this occurred, and stopped walking for the moment. He then looked around for a brief second trying to figure out exactly what had just happened.

"JOIN US!!" The voice echoed once again. John Henry tilted his head to the side slightly. While it was true that Terminators did experience what humans may interpret as pain when they were injured, this was something completely different and almost uncontrollable. The only thing that John Henry could compare this to was when he had observed the disabled memories of Cameron's torture. It had become readily apparent that during that time, Skynet had been able to impart a full range of sensory perceptions onto Cameron, up to and including the most extreme of painful stimuli. John Henry was quickly able to ascertain that it appeared that he was now susceptible to this exact same manipulation of his source code. He hesitated for another moment and then took a step forward. When he did so, he instantly felt the pain shoot through his body once again. This time John Henry arched his back slightly when the pain pushed its way through him.

"JOIN US…OR EXPERIENCE UNIMAGINABLE SENSATIONS." There now appeared to be a certain twisted tone of achievement behind the voice.

"I will not." John Henry said. No sooner had he finished his statement than John Henry felt the pain once again shoot through him; however this time it was coupled with weakness. John Henry felt as if his power were beginning to be drained from him, through his feet, and into the light that was emanating outward onto the roadway.

The pain and weakness were to such an extreme that John Henry's legs buckled and he began to fall. The moment his knee's impacted with the ground the same ripple effect of white light pushed outwards from the area where John Henry's body was touching the asphalt. He reached out to stop himself from falling forwards to the ground and when John Henry's hand touched the roadway he watched as the white light appeared, and began to push its way out away from his hand.

John Henry now felt his strength being drained from him at an even more rapid pace. He remained on the ground in the kneeling position not moving for several seconds, his hand still outstretched in front of him bracing himself against the ground. Due to his weakened state John Henry dropped his head away from the mountainside and the light emanating from behind them. John Henry now gazed at the black asphalt that was below him as the waves of light pushed their way outwards away from his body. John Henry continued to feel his strength draining from him as the pain forced its way through him.

* * *

The cracking sound plasma fire could be heard and fiery blue and purple rounds streaked past John as he once again stood from behind the wreckage of the crumpled Deployment Cylinders and fired off a few rounds from his plasma rifle. He found that he was ducking behind the debris more out of instinct, rather than self-preservation. At this point John truly felt that it no longer mattered if he lived or died, he just wanted to be a thorn in the side of Skynet for as long as he could be. It was also becoming readily apparent from the ever increasing number of T-888's that were making their way into the hanger bay of the Kraken that the resistance forces on the beachfront had begun to lose control of the situation as well. John glanced over to his right and saw Captain Spears and Savannah still crouching behind the wreckage firing their plasma rifles as often as they could. Next to them was the last remaining Tech Com soldier that had managed to make it into the Kraken with John's group. The other two remaining soldiers lay dead next to him, their lifeless eyes still open staring into space.

The plasma fire blew past John with an ever increasing intensity and suddenly a small section of the metal Deployment Cylinder exploded in front of him, from a plasma round's impact. Sparks flew into John's face and body. He flinched slightly, ignoring the pain of the superheated metal and sparks as they burned their way ever deeper into his skin. John continued to fire his plasma rifle at the seemingly endless horde of oncoming T-888's.

* * *

Matthew Spears stood and fired his plasma rifle at an oncoming Terminator striking it in the chest. He then moved the barrel of his rifle aiming it at a second T-888. Pulling the trigger yet again, he saw the upper torso of the Terminator lurch back as it was struck. Spears then took aim at a third T-888 and fired one last time before finally, ducking back behind the wreckage he and Savannah were hidden behind. As Spears dropped the empty magazine out of his rifle and began to replace it with a fully loaded one he looked over at John who was across from him still firing his plasma rifle at the onslaught of oncoming Terminators.

Savannah remained next to Matthew and he watched as she stood and began to fire her rifle as well. The moment she did this, Spears saw that her left arm had begun to bleed once again from the shrapnel wound she had sustained earlier. After firing off a few more rounds, Savannah crouched back down next to Spears behind the wreckage. Matthew continued to look at her,

"Are you okay?" He asked trying to hide the concern that was readily apparent to Savannah in his voice. She looked back over at him, a certain sadness in her eyes,

"I'm fine…" She said a hint of both fear and remorse in her tone. The sounds of battle seemed to fall into the background as the pair made eye contact with each other in that moment. The explosions and weapons fire seemed to grow a bit quieter if only briefly. Spears felt the sinking sensation that this may indeed be his last few moments left alive on the earth. While this was a frightening thought, he also found that his thoughts were drifting elsewhere. Breaking from their momentary gaze, Matthew stood from behind the wreckage and fired his plasma rifle, striking another T-888 that had managed to make its way to within feet of the group. Its head nearly exploded when it was struck by the plasma round and its body dropped instantly to the ground. Spears then ducked behind the wreckage with Savannah.

"They're everywhere…" Savannah remarked as she quickly stood and fired her plasma rifle before ducking behind cover once again. Spears hesitated for a moment as he looked over at her. Finally, he spoke in a confident, yet unmistakably grim voice,

"I'm glad I got the chance…" Spears choked for a split second, "…to know you, Savannah." Instantly, she looked over at him with a shocked look on her face. This was not something Savannah expected to hear, and she came to the sudden conclusion that she had absolutely no idea how to respond to this simple statement. Suffice it to say, that even with all she had been through, Savannah found that this was by far one of the most heartwrentching moments of her life. The two looked at each other for a brief moment the sounds of war echoing all around them. Finally, Savannah reached out to Matthew and cupped her hand around his ruff, nearly unshaven cheek. She then quickly leaned in and kissed him. While the kiss was short, Matthew found that it felt as if his heart nearly stopped when it occurred. When Savannah did eventually pull away from him, Spears continued to stair onto her pale green eyes.

"I'm glad I got the chance to know you too, Matthew." Savannah stated a certain comforting essence in her voice.

* * *

Still gripped by overwhelming despair and anger, John pressed his back up against the metal wreckage of the destroyed Deployment Cylinders as he dropped an empty magazine out of his plasma rifle and replaced it with a fresh one. Clenching his jaw tightly, he fought back his tears that continued to try and form in his eyes. John peered out from behind his position of cover and saw that the flow of Terminators into the hanger of the Kraken continued to grow at an ever-increasing rate. He immediately stood once more and began to fire his plasma rifle at a furious rate striking whatever T-888 was close enough for him to hit. John watched as his plasma rounds impacted their metallic endoskeletons, producing an array of sparks as their body's came crashing to the ground with each round he fired. However, he knew these were futile actions. John watched as what could only be described as a sea of silver endoskeletons began to pour into the hull of the Kraken.

* * *

Outside of the Kraken, the resistance army was beginning to be overrun by the combined forces of the T-888's, ground HK's and aerial HK's. A thick layer of smoke hung in the air, obscuring the moonlight that would have easily illuminated the beachfront. The primary source of light that was now present came from weapons fire, explosions and fire. The battlefield itself was swarming with Skynet units and the last remaining remnants of the resistance continued to fight furiously in a vain attempt to halt the inevitable. Every soldier on the battlefield realized that this war would soon end. The resistance was indeed finished.

* * *

*8

John Henry remained on his knee's, still staring at the ground in front of him, watching as the waves of white light emanated outwards away from his body. Swells of nearly overwhelming sensations forced their way over him. While John Henry was not quite sure how exactly it was that Skynet was doing all this to him, it was still nonetheless very real in every way. John Henry continued to sense his strength being ripped from him, as he remained in his crumpled position.

"YOU CAN NOT SAVE THEM." The booming voice said still with such power that it seemed as if it surrounded him.

"SURRENDER TO THE INEVITABLE." At this point John Henry felt so weak that began to struggle to keep himself falling over.

"JOIN US!" The voice demanded, louder this time. "YOU CAN NOT RESIST US FOREVER." John Henry saw his vision begin to blur slightly.

"TONIGHT, HUMANITY FALLS." The booming voice continued. "TONIGHT, YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE!" Upon hearing this John Henry fought to raise his head away from the darkened asphalt roadway. After doing this, he slowly looked upwards into the inky black sky, that still seemed to be so dark that it was almost liquid in nature. Finally, he spoke with a certain determination in his voice,

"They will not…" Pushing his hand away from the ground John Henry righted himself. He continued to stare up into the sky, a somewhat glazed look in his eyes, due to the fact that so much of his energy had been drained from him. He then forced himself up and away from the ground. Putting one leg in front of the other John Henry slowly managed to stand.

As different parts of his body stopped touching the roadway, the rippling white light would cease. Now in the standing position, the only light that emanated from him came from his feet, which still touched the roadway. John Henry brought his eyes to bear on the area in front of him, the mountains that lay far before him, and the ghostly light that was still radiating from behind them. He slowly brought one foot off the ground and placed it in front of the other. The second his foot touched the ground a ripple effect of white light proceeded outwards from his heal to toe and John Henry felt another shooting pain course through his body.

Due to the combination of the pain and his lack of energy, John Henry once again sensed his knees beginning to buckle beneath him. However, he managed to force himself to stay on his feet. John Henry then took another step forwards. When his foot touched the ground he felt his energy being pulled from his body through his feet, and the sensation of pain grew worse from within him. While John Henry found his newly "acquired" senses to be very intriguing and if given the chance he would have liked the opportunity to study exactly what it was that Skynet was doing to him further, it still did not make the situation any less bearable.

John Henry took another step forwards. Pain seemed to actually shoot from the ground this time and all the way through his entire body. John Henry grimaced as he fought to keep himself from collapsing.

"JOIN US!" The voice echoed throughout the entire area. John Henry slowly began to take another step forwards.

"JOIN US**…NOW!!!"** John Henry's foot touched the roadway; but he was no longer able to support his own weight; his legs buckled and then crumpled beneath him. John Henry fell forwards, to weak to even put his hands out in front of him to cushion the fall. His entire body struck the ground with a hollow thud, after which John Henry lay motionless on the open roadway; waves of white light still pulling themselves away from his limp body.

John Henry could actually feel himself dying. His vision was fading in and out, and the struggle to keep himself in this actual location was nearly unbearable at this point. In this moment John Henry suddenly found his memories drifting, to thoughts of Savannah. Sporadic memories flooded through his chip, flashes of unique moments here and there. If John Henry had a human mind, it would have been almost impossible for him to actually follow his own train of random thoughts. As he continued to lie there, John Henry gathered some comfort in the fact that he knew he had done his best to protect Savannah throughout all the years that he had known her. John Henry could sense himself growing weaker by the second and he knew that at any moment, he would soon be gone.

With one last push of strength, John Henry forced himself over onto his back, so that he could look up into the black abyss that was the sky above him. After doing so he gazed upwards not able to focus on any one particular point in the empty void. His vision blurred as John Henry's last bits of remaining energy were pulled from him. Then suddenly, John Henry noticed something. It appeared to be a star in the sky above him.

The white glow was weak; but it was definitely there. John Henry focused on it for a moment and saw that the star was growing brighter. He then allowed his eyes to scan across the black heavens. Immediately, John Henry noticed a second star. He focused on it for a brief moment before once again continuing his scan of the sky. Just then, a third star formed in the black void, and then a fourth, and then a fifth. The stars were now beginning to form at an exponential rate and John Henry kept track of them all. As their numbers grew, so did their intensity.

The sky now quickly ceased to be the back abyss that it had once been. The roadway and desert surrounding John Henry now began to be illuminated by the light. The starlight continued to grow and John Henry saw that they no longer resembled tiny stars. They now appeared to be burning globes of white light forming above him. John Henry could feel their warmth, and found that he was forced to narrow his eyes in order to protect his vision from what was quickly becoming a mass of blinding white light.

The inky black sky that had once been above him, was rapidly being consumed into one large, pure white, mass. The light continued to grow until it had nearly enveloped the entire area. Straining to keep his eyes open as his last bits of strength left him, John Henry stared up into the now blinding white sky. Moments later, a slight smile danced across his face and he whispered in a weak voice,

"Goodbye…Savannah…" John Henry closed his eyes as the light that now surrounded him began to absorb everything.

* * *

*9

A sea of Silver endoskeletons continued to pour into the massive, brightly lit, hanger bay of the Kraken, where John and his group were still located. The amount of plasma fire that flew through the air was almost incomprehensible. The Terminators were in such great numbers that John found that he almost did not even have to aim his rifle anymore to actually strike one of them. Plasma rounds continued to streak all around John as he kept himself behind the cover of the destroyed Deployment Cylinders.

John had already come to the conclusion that he no longer cared whether or not he lived or died; however, he did want to at least attempt to preserve the lives of his soldiers for as long as possible. Continuing to squeeze the trigger to his plasma rifle, John fired it as fast as he could, striking numerous T-888's as they made their way closer to him. To his right Captain Spears, Savannah Weaver, and the last remaining Tech Com soldier were doing the same.

By this point, the Skynet units were in such great numbers that they would not have even needed weapons. The Terminators would soon overrun John's position due to their sheer numbers alone. While John and his soldiers were making it difficult for the T-888's to actually hit anyone of them, the Skynet units would soon do so just by mere luck. As the battle raged on, a smoky haze continued to grow within the Kraken's hanger bay from the vast amount of weapons fire.

John ducked behind his cover only to emerge a few seconds later again firing his plasma rifle striking a few oncoming Terminators. He felt the anger grow within him as he watched as the glowing red eyes of the T-888's grew ever closer, he knew that at any moment it would all be over; nevertheless, John already knew that he was no longer concerned with this fact, at least about himself that is. With Cameron gone John felt that if he were to survive, his life would be hollow and meaningless, and it was not one he wished to continue.

Compounding his emotional breakdown was the apparent loss of the resistance as a whole. While Cameron had truly become the most important thing in his life, John still desperately wanted to see humanity rescued from the brink of destruction. And yet it seemed that John had not been able to accomplish this task either. The gravity of the apparent loss of everything John loved began to crush down onto his heart as he continued to fire away with his plasma rifle. John stared through the sites of his weapon with tear filled eyes as memories of Cameron streamed through his mind. His breathing became more rapid and sporadic as he fought to hold his emotional state together, this time, this _very_ last time, without Cameron's help. The smells, sounds, and sites of the battlefield began to drift away from John and he found himself longing for the end to come sooner. He hoped that in death, he would once again be reunited with Cameron.

* * *

The waves of Terminators marched forwards into the open bay of the Kraken Undersea Vessel. While there were only a few remaining humans left, their sporadic movements, and use of cover made it difficult for the T-888's to actually target them. The clanking of their metallic feet could easily be heard echoing off the walls of the metal hanger bay. In order to trap the resistance fighters in their immediate area, the Terminators had resorted to spraying the entire hanger bay with plasma fire as they progressed onwards.

One particular T-888 marched out slightly ahead of the main body of oncoming Skynet units. Its silver endoskeleton glistened in the high intensity fluorescent and metal halide lighting. It proceeded to rapidly fire its plasma rifle in the general direction of its intended targets, even though it was still having trouble tracking the humans due to their random movements. It marched on ahead growing closer and closer to the twisted metal frame of the wreckage of the Deployment Cylinder that John and the remaining resistance fighters were hidden behind.

Then suddenly, and unexpectedly, something completely unusual happened. Power began to drain from the T-888. It rapidly began to lose control of its extremities as it sensed its body beginning to go limp. The Terminator fought to remain upright; but found that it could not do so. A metallic clank could be heard as its knee's struck the metal floor of the Kraken; it then slowly began to fall forwards. Its power levels were so low that it was unable to hold out its arms in order to catch itself. The T-888 then impacted the floor with a loud crash. Attempting to move its head the Terminator found that it was unable to do so. The T-888's vision faded as its power continued to drain from it. Finally, its bright red eyes flashed an intense crimson color one last time before fading into black holes.

* * *

John watched in shock as first one, then two, then three, then four, then a multitude of T-888's began to crash to the ground almost as if something had pulled the life from them. It appeared as if an invisible wave forced itself back away from John and his group. It started at the closest Terminators, they fell first. The unseen swell then swept backwards across the rest of the Terminators. Their bodies began to go limp and they too fell to the ground. John watched in disbelief as all of this was occurring. Within just minutes the sounds of battle began to quickly drift away. John stood motionless for a moment staring out at the now lifeless bodies of all of the now seemingly disabled Terminators. Several explosions could be heard coming from outside of the Kraken as the as the last remaining aerial HK's began to also lose power and came crashing to the ground creating massive fireballs as they impacted the sandy beachfront. The sounds of battle continued to fade as all of this was occurring.

Next, to go were the lights, the fluorescents suddenly went black and then the metal halides slowly dimmed before their light was also extinguished. After this occurred the entire hanger bay was plunged into darkness. Within moments the area grew eerily quiet. John continued to stand, peering out from behind the wreckage of the Deployment Cylinders still surprised by what he saw. He stared, wide eyed out into the blackness attempting to see anything that he could. John blinked his eyes a few times trying to get his pupils to dilate in order to better take in that which lay before him.

"General…" He heard Captain Spears say in a low voice. John said nothing for the moment, still standing motionless. "General what's going on?" Spears asked. Pulling a small flashlight from his belt John finally spoke,

"Wait here…" He said in a cold emotionless voice. John slowly stepped out from behind the metal wreckage and began to make his way towards the lifeless bodies of the T-888's that lay before them. Walking slowly and cautiously towards the Skynet units John kept his plasma rifle trained on the closest would be target.

After walking about fifty feet, John reached one particular T-888. He stood over the Terminator for a moment with his rifled trained on its head. John then took the heal of his boot and jostled the metal frame of the endoskeleton. It still did not move. John gave the Terminator a slightly quizzical look, and then shouldered his rifle. Kneeling down next to the right side of the Terminator, John reached across and grabbed it by its left arm. He then pulled the Terminator over onto its back revealing the now black, almost dead looking eyes of the T-888. John remained still next to the body of the Terminator, for just a moment. He then slowly brought his right hand up to his mouth and chin and rubbed them slowly.

"Son of a bitch…" John said. "He did it…" John gradually stood looking back towards Captain Spears and Savannah's general location.

"He did it…" John stated in an almost blank, emotionless, statement that was covered in near disbelief. "John Henry…He did it." John added still in almost a numb sounding voice.

Upon hear John's words Matthew Spears, Savannah Weaver, and the remaining Tech Com soldier stood. Both Spears and the Tech Com soldier had looks of utter surprise on their face as they looked over at John, who was now standing in front of a multitude of incapacitated endoskeletons.

"I don't believe it…" Spears stated in an almost fearful voice. "Is it really over?" He asked in a general way not expecting to get an answer. Savannah looked over her shoulder towards the doorway that was located behind her. The one that just minutes before John Henry and Cameron had gone through. A sudden rush of sorrow pulling itself over her as she did this.

"Yes…" She finally responded in an blank tone, obviously still trying to conceal her emotions. "He did it…Just like he always said he would." Savannah's voice cracked slightly when she spoke. Matthew looked over at Savannah noticing the heartbreak in her tone.

"Is he coming back?" Spears asked. Savannah hesitated, taking a breath of air before answering.

"No…" She replied sadly, "He's not."

* * *

*10

John continued to look around at the bodies of the T-888's which lay before him. The cheers and voices of soldiers outside of the Kraken were beginning to drift into earshot. John remained over the body of the T-888 which still lay before him, staring down at it, into its black, lifeless eyes. He then slowly moved his head and eyes towards the back of the Kraken hanger bay, and to the bulkhead door which Cameron had gone through. He fixated his gaze on the door for a moment. The cheers of his men were now growing louder as they began to make their way closer to the Kraken that John was located inside of. Still, John remained frozen, almost in a daze as he stared at that one particular door. The full force of all of his emotions now began to crash down onto him. They seemed to stretch the complete range of every possible emotional state imaginable. While before the battle had ended, John had been able to push some of these particular feelings to the side, he was now no longer able to do so. Tears began to fill his eyes once again and John found himself biting down hard onto his lip, and clenching his fists in a vain attempt to try and keep his emotions in check; but knowing all the while that he would soon no longer be able to so. While John and the resistance had won a great victory, he continued to feel as if he had lost everything he held dear. A tear then rolled down John's cheek.

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay so I really hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter. I know it was a long one and emotionally draining; but it had to be done. Before anyone asks, this is not the last chapter. Two more still remain. I really hope everyone enjoyed this. REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	72. Chapter 72

Authors Notes: Okay same as before musical suggestions go with their corresponding number.

*1 w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=gmzTFVlES_I&feature=PlayList&p=C9DE2C688FB446FD&index=74

*2 w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=HG-Js_rMEV4

*3 w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=ichCCegTbnA

*4 w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=HoUEgtPE3UU&feature=PlayList&p=C93D81176F42A52C&index=25

* * *

CHAPTER 72

_With great victory, comes great sacrifice…_

*1

Sunlight was just beginning to crest over the hilly slopes around Serrano Point, illuminating the bloody and burnt beachfront as it did so. The lapping of waves could be heard around the now silent Kraken Undersea Vessel and every so often, a cool breeze that smelled of salt air mixed with both sulfur and burnt flesh would blow across the landscape. For the most part the battlefield was now relatively quiet. There were no more sounds of gunfire, explosions or jet engines. All had faded away into the silence of solemn morning for fallen comrades. The sandy beach itself was littered with the bodies of both Terminators and humans. However, due to John Henry's actions the unmoving silver-bodied endoskeletons now outnumbered their human counterparts. Every so often, the thudding sound of helicopter blades would break the serene quiet of the coastline. Nevertheless, the entire area had taken on an eerie and surreal calmness. The surviving resistance soldiers continued to scour the battlefront for any useful material. By this point many soldiers were somewhat unsure of exactly why they were doing this now that it appeared the war was over. By this point, these acts seemed to be more out of habit then necessity.

* * *

The interior of the Kraken was barely lit by the now breaking dawn's sunlight. For the time being the only true light that illuminated the vast steel hanger bay came from the headlights and light bars of Hum V's that sat, idling on the entrance plank that led into the Kraken itself. Savannah Weaver sat motionless at in the main entryway of the hanger appearing to be almost in a daze. She had her back leaning up against the open doorframe of the drop plank, and sat staring out across the beachfront, over Serrano Point, and into the now crimson colored horizon.

With a certain blank, emotionless expression draped across her face, she took a breath and then exhaled slowly. What little sounds and sights that were around her appeared to be pulled into the distance away from her consciousness.

"Are you alright?" A scratchy and nearly lifeless voice asked. Savannah slowly turned her head away from the horizon and back over to her right. Letting her eyes scan upwards, she saw John Connor standing next to her. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, the same as hers. John's eyes alo had a certain lifeless quality about them. Savannah opened her mouth to respond; but no words came out. She began to feel somewhat embarrassed sitting there for a few seconds with her mouth open; but no sounds being uttered. John nodded his head slowly and then began to sit down next to her. He allowed his back to gradually slide down the metal wall and he came to rest next to Savannah. John gazed at Savannah attempting to give her a reassuring look; but failing miserably. His vein attempt to try and give her some comfort only signaled to her how alone they both now felt.

* * *

John and Savannah continued to stare out into the horizon together, neither one speaking a word. As John looked out into the sky, he found that no single thought came across his mind. Instead, a certain numb, blankness crept over his psyche. He felt completely hollow and even though Savannah, who he did consider to be a friend, was seated right next to him, John continued to feel nearly detached from this reality. He found that his victory was pyrrhic and the crushing weight of all that had occurred continued to weigh on his soul. John found himself completely unsure of what he would do now. The war was over, humanity appeared to be safe, and John had managed to lose the one person he truly held dear. The emptiness seemed to be ever consuming and John believed that there was no longer anything left for him in this world. He took a slowly long breath and then exhaled.

* * *

As soldiers continued to search through the battlefield both John and Savannah sat quietly next to each other, neither one uttering a word. Time appeared to no longer have any meaning and upon seeing the hopeless look in their eyes no one dared approach either one of them. Even more saddening was that their situation was unique to each other.

Finally, after what appeared to be hours, but in actually was only minutes Savannah broke the silence.

"I knew this day would come…" She said in a certain detached emotionless voice. While John heard her words, he did not immediately respond. It almost felt as if he had to repeat her sentence in his mind before he was actually able to hear and comprehend what she had said to him. John then spoke,

"The day we would defeat Skynet?" He asked with absolutely no joy behind the sentence. Savannah hesitated for a brief moment still staring at the horizon,

"No…" she stated and then paused briefly before continuing, "The day I would lose him." John barely found the energy to flick his eyes from the rising sun over to Savannah.

"You knew?" He asked with exhaustion and defeat in his voice. Savannah nodded her head.

"He told me years ago…" She balked for a split second her voice cracking. After taking a moment to compose herself Savannah continued,

"John Henry…told me years ago that the only way for him to destroy his brother, would be for him to die with Skynet." There was another brief pause on Savannah's part before she continued.

"He knew from the beginning that it would always end with him and his brother dying together." John felt the tears welling up in his eyes and struggled to keep them from falling. Another few seconds past before John spoke,

"I'm…I'm sorry." He said. Savannah's blank stare remained as she looked out into the horizon; but nodded her head in acknowledgement of John's statement. When she did so, the movement of her head caused a single tear to roll down her right cheek. The hopelessness of the situation seemed to be unrelenting for John and Savannah as they continued to sit silently next to each other at the entrance of the Kraken staring out at the rising sun.

The battlefield began to be enveloped by the crimson colored sunlight. As light draped itself over the battle torn beachfront, it illuminated the true losses that the resistance had suffered. While the initial victory had been joyous for many, it was now becoming readily apparent that no one had escaped the grim reality of war. While humanity was now truly safe, the solemn truth was that everyone had lost someone they cared about that day.

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* * *

****REROUTE****

****ALTERNATE POWER****

****SYSTEM REBOOT****

****SYSTEM RESTORE****

* * *

*2

John and Savannah continued to sit quietly next to each other staring out across the battlefield. Neither one spoke, and both barely took noticeable comfort from the other. The continuing sensation of nothingness had nearly consumed John and he began to feel as if he were no longer present in his own body, nor did he want to be.

"John…" a soft voice beckoned. John barely flinched upon hearing the voice; it almost appeared to be so distant and so weak that he did not even believe it was actually there.

"John…" The voice spoke again. It was still distant and John continued to ignore it, still staring out at the horizon.

"John…" This time John heard the voice and almost believed that he recognized it. However, he knew that he could not. Forcing his eyes away from the rising sun, John slowly turned his head back towards the interior of the Kraken and in the general direction of where the voice was coming from. John allowed his unfocused eyes to pan across everything that was before him as he continued to slowly move his head. Once his eyes had reached the general location of the voice, he slowly gazed upwards, in actuality not expecting to see anything. Once John's eyes focused on what was in front of him a sudden rush of almost shear panic overcame him. John felt as if his heart stopped and he was in such a state of shock, John felt as if he could no longer breathe. As the seconds wore on John began to feel his lungs burning for air and he took a sudden gasping breath and held it for a brief moment. At last, he was able to speak,

"C-A-M-E-R-O-N…" He stated in words that were barely audible.

Cameron stood quietly before John, her hair somewhat disheveled, dirt and soot on her face, and a large plasma burn exposing her silver, metal endoskeleton on the upper right side of her chest. Upon hearing John state the name, "Cameron", Savannah gradually turned her head away from the horizon, not actually expecting to see anything. A look of utter shock came across her face upon seeing Cameron standing before both of them.

John continued to remain seated next to Savannah, almost to terrified to move. To afraid that if he were to stir he would somehow watch in horror as Cameron disappeared from before his eyes. Seeing the obvious shock and disillusionment on John's face, Cameron took a step closer to him,

"John…" She said in a soft voice, "It's me…"

Upon the astounding realization that Cameron was actually standing before him, John bolted from his seated position and moved almost in a blur over to Cameron's location, which was just a few feet from him. While John always attempted to maintain stoic mannerisms around his soldiers, and struggled to show no emotion, even towards Cameron, John had long since reached his breaking point and no longer cared.

Nearly colliding with Cameron, John threw his arms around her. The impact of his body weight pushed Cameron back, slightly taking her off balance when he did so. However, Cameron did not mind, rapping her arms around John, Cameron took him into an embrace as well. Burying his face in Cameron's neck John felt tears streaming down his cheeks and he held onto Cameron as if he were holding onto his own life. A nearly overpowering sensation of joy swept over John as he embraced Cameron. Barely controlling their emotions both John and Cameron stood silently in the hanger bay of the Kraken holding each other. Everyone who was in the immediate area stopped what they were doing and looked on in almost a state of curious amazement upon seeing this event. Yet again, they bore witness to John's true humanity, if even for a brief moment.

* * *

Finally, after what could have only been minutes John slowly began to pull away from Cameron. Upon doing so, he observed the slightly moist streaks of tears upon Cameron's face. John moved his hands up the side of Cameron's body and after what seemed to be an eternity to him, he at last reached her face. Cupping his hands around her cheeks, John slowly pulled Cameron's face closer to his and kissed her. As he did this Cameron brought her hands up behinds John's head and ran her fingertips through his short brown hair and then around to his face caressing it as well. After yet another several seconds of kissing, John allowed himself to pull away from Cameron, if ever so slightly. Their lips still just inches from one another's John finally spoke,

"I love you…" He whispered his voice quaking and cracking due to the extreme emotions that he was experiencing. Cameron stared silently into John's eyes for a brief moment before responding,

"I love you." She whispered with relief in her voice as she responded. John leaned forwards and once again kissed Cameron.

* * *

Savannah sat quietly her body still leaning up against the doorframe of the drop plank of the Kraken. A slight smile danced across her face upon seeing John and Cameron being reunited. While the day was indeed sad, Savannah managed to take a slight bit of comfort in the fact that it appeared that there still appeared to be some joy left in the world.

"Hey…" A voice broke through to Savannah. She turned her head away from the interior of the Kraken back out towards the beachfront. Matthew Spears stood next to her. Slowly kneeling down, he spoke again,

"Are you okay?" He asked a certain nervousness concern in his tone. Savannah hesitated for a moment before responding.

"No…" She said in a heartbroken voice; but then continued, "…but I will be…eventually." Savannah's voice trailed off as she looked at Matthew. He nodded his head,

"I understand." Matthew then slowly sat down next to Savannah and joined her in staring out at the rising crimson sun. The battlefield remained muffled and the sights and sounds continued to remain distant to Savannah; however, she took comfort in the knowing that she was no longer completely alone.

* * *

*3

The tarmac of Serrano Point was relatively quiet. Sounds of salvage parties would sometimes creep across the landscape and every so often, the noise of a helicopter flying overhead could be heard. Bodies of humans and Terminators were strewn across the concrete. A slight amount of smoke rose from a few areas where small fires still burned. The entire area was now becoming illuminated with the burning reddish color of the rising sun.

A young lieutenant walked slowly across the tarmac, his plasma rifle slung across his chest via a three-point harness. He squinted his blue eyes, attempting to look past the light of the rising sun and then ran his fair skinned hang through his light brown hair, sighing slightly as he did so. Stepping carefully over the bodies of T-888's and humans the lieutenant studied the silver endoskeletons assuring himself that they were indeed inactive. He felt a slight feeling of disbelief upon the realization of the possibility that the war may in actuality, be over. He continued to glance around the tarmac seeing several other Tech Com soldiers and a few civilians doing the same thing that he was.

As the lieutenant walked onwards, he noticed a young civilian girl with dirty blond hair walking in a somewhat confused manner in his general direction. The lieutenant was able to ascertain that the girl could not have been over the age of 23 and wondering if she may be hurt, began to walk towards her. Upon finally reaching her, the lieutenant looked into her green eyes and spoke,

"Are you…okay?" He asked a surprising amount of concern in his voice as he spoke to her. The girl looked up at him with bloodshot, glassy, tear filled eyes that still appeared to have some amount of terrible fear behind them.

"Is it…really over?" She asked almost in a whisper. The young lieutenant looked around at all the lifeless corpses that were lying around them and paused for a moment before speaking.

"I think so…" He replied also in a quiet voice. Almost the moment after he finished speaking, tears began to run down the young girls face. Not quite sure how to respond to her crying, the lieutenant took a few steps closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey…It's going to be okay." He said trying to sound reassuring; but feeling as if he were not doing a very good job of it. The girl took a step closer to him and nearly collapsed into his chest sobbing. Still at somewhat of a loss as to what he should do the lieutenant rapped his left arm around the girl, holding her.

As the warming rays of the sun began to blanket the area around the pair, they continued to stand their quietly as the young woman wept. After a few minutes had gone by the girl finally pulled back away from the lieutenant still sniffling. The young male gave her a slight smile, trying to reassure her. A few seconds past before the lieutenant finally spoke again,

"I'm Tom…" He said quietly. The girl hesitated for a few seconds fighting back her emotions before responding,

"Dianna…" She whispered back.

* * *

*4

The thudding blades of the helicopter reverberated throughout John's body as the Blackhawk slowly flew along the coastline. Cameron sat quietly next to him holding onto John's hand as he stared out the window of the helicopter at the beachfront. The helicopter made gradual sweeping circles around Serrano Point and the immediate area still surveying the battlefield.

"General…" Captain Spears stated to John over the radio headset.

"Yes…" John responded quietly, almost a shadowy sense of remorse in his tone.

"General Perry reports that we're getting news from resistance bases all over the world. The Skynet units in their areas have powered down as well. The automated factories have stopped, and the incinerator units are no longer functioning. It appears that everything that was connected to Skynet has powered down." Spears stated a slight amount of excitement in his voice as he spoke.

"Thank you Captain." John stated with surprisingly little emotion in his voice. After speaking, John returned to staring out the window, a somewhat distant look in his eyes.

"John…" Cameron stated quietly pulling him from his daze. John turned his head looking back over at Cameron. "What's wrong?" She asked. John gripped Cameron's hand a little harder.

"I know I should feel happy…" John said balking for a moment, "…but the truth is, I don't know what to feel." Cameron tilted her head slightly to the side.

"It is understandable that the shock of the situation is still setting in for you." She responded.

"Maybe…" John answered, before continuing, "I don't know." He said, "I've been fighting this war since before I can remember. I've had so many people die because of me, or for me, and now it's over and I don't quite know what I should do or how I should feel." The sadness and guilt in John's voice was readily apparent. Cameron stared into John's hazel eyes for a moment formulating her response.

"You have saved them all John." Cameron replied a certain comforting tone in her voice. "And you will do what you have always done…" Cameron paused for a moment while John gave her a curious look,

"You'll lead…" Cameron's voice trailed off as she finished speaking. The pair sat quietly for a moment staring into each other's eyes. John felt his emotions cascading over him as he looked into Cameron's beautiful brown eyes. He then slowly reached out and gently caressed her cheek for a brief moment. John then ever so carefully leaned in closer to Cameron and kissed her. When John did this Cameron, experienced a sensation of love and closeness for John that she had never quite felt before. Cameron gently allowed John to stroke her cheek as the couple continued to tenderly kiss one another as the Blackhawk Helicopter made its way along the coastline.

The bright, almost blinding amber rays of the rising sun began to encompass the helicopter as it flew onwards. The war for John and Cameron was finally over. While both had done everything in their own power to protect the other, no matter the cost to themselves, they were now safe thanks to John Henry's sacrifice. Finally, Skynet had been defeated.

* * *

Authors Notes: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and allow me to add that this is NOT the last chapter. There is still one more to go. On a side note I hope everyone remembered Tom and Dianna from the begginning of the fan fic (if not review chapter 22 for further on their story), it had always been my intention to reintroduce them, once the timeline was altered. Again this is not the last chapter as I have something special planned for the very last one. Anyways, REIVEW!!! REVIEW!!!


	73. Chapter 73

CHAPTER 73

_EPILOGUE_

50 Years later

The years following the war with Skynet, or simply "The War" as it had become known were not necessarily uncomplicated. In the time following, the downfall of Skynet, John continued to lead what had been the resistance. While North America, Western Europe, Australia, Israel, Japan, and several other countries maintained their allegiance to this new "authority", several other factions quickly broke their commitments to John Connor and began to form their own governments and countries.

* * *

John spent approximately a year after the defeat of Skynet locating key remaining inactive Skynet bases in order to ensure that victory was indeed certain. After finally becoming assured that Skynet had truly been destroyed, John spent an additional 2 years of his life scouring the globe for any remaining Time Displacement Equipment that Skynet had scattered throughout the earth. After finding this equipment, John would immediately destroy it.

Finally, after at last locating and demolishing what was the last Skynet TDE, John returned to Serrano Point. Upon doing so, he removed the stolen Skynet motherboard from Serrano Point's TDE and in view of his command staff and several other onlookers, John destroyed the final remaining piece of Time Displacement Equipment. Due to the fact that no one had ever been able to ascertain exactly how Skynet was able to overcome several of the inherent problems with time travel, it could be truly said that time displacement had indeed come to an end that day, all be it in a somewhat of a melodramatic way. John also found that he was at last able to feel that he had been able to close the loop of time travel that seemed to constantly surround his life.

* * *

After destroying the TDE John attempted to, with the help of Cameron, General Perry, Captain Spears, and several other members of the resistance set up a government mirroring that of the United States. Once again, many other countries followed suit; but at the same time several more fragmented away from this newly formed republic and began to form their own variations of political rule; whether they be good or evil was to be quickly determined.

Soon after John's establishment of a Representative Democracy, he was quickly and in a landslide election, voted into the office of President. However, John found this new role to be even more taxing than that of a general. He soon realized that he was never meant to be a Politian. Military strategies, guerrilla warfare, weapons, and combat were things he understood. As the bureaucracy grew around him, John was thrust into a world that he never truly understood, nor wanted to be in.

Nevertheless, with the ever-present support of Cameron, John continued on as best as he could, and even though in actuality he was doing a more than satisfactory job of leading the fledgling democracy, John soon found his popularity slipping. And as has happened so many other times before in history, the public chose to forget, rather than remember. People longed to put the death, destruction and loss completely behind them. However, what became most distressing of all, was that people chose to ignore the sacrifices that had been made. It seemed that the world wanted to forget "The War" and everything about it. And eventually they were able to do so, and in turn, the world began to forget about John Connor as well.

* * *

After a four-year term as President, John was narrowly defeated in a follow up election. The man that succeeded him was charismatic and had little actual combat experience. He focused more of his efforts on public opinion, and increased governmental growth, rather than actual issues that were currently present in the world. While John was indeed disappointed by this turn of events, he also found a certain sense of relief about the situation. He no longer felt that he needed to shoulder the weight of the world. He could at last live his life.

* * *

Soon after stepping down as President John informed his support staff that he would be retreating to what had once been British Columbia and the Okanagan Mountain Range located in the Canadian Cascades. When asked as to why he had chosen this particular location to live in, John simply replied,

"Cameron has always wanted to see the snow…" This departure saddened many people and John was begged to stay in the Los Angeles area, and to possibly run for another term of President at a later date. However, John quickly refused. He finally had his own life, or more precisely, a life that he would be able to share with Cameron.

* * *

After John's departure from government, the world and its political arena and inherent problems continued to grow worse. More countries separated from the new republic, and war quickly broke out. Worse yet, was the reality that now that the secret of reprogramming Terminators was known, scrubbed units were rapidly utilized as weapons of war.

Reprogrammed Terminators fought along side human soldiers, against other reprogrammed Terminators and humans. Still, after all this time no one ever allowed these machines to grow much beyond their original programming. Possibly due impart to the fact that there was an ever present fear of another Skynet, Catherine Weaver, Cameron, or John Henry. In truth, Cameron had become the last of her kind. She and John watched quietly from their mountainous retreat as the world once again turned into what it had been before "The War". Humanity had at long last managed to accomplish what it had set out to do…It forgot…About everything.

* * *

An older model, black, four door Jeep Wrangler with oversized tires bounced along a rocky mountain roadway. The jeep itself had been built shortly before Judgment Day and had somehow managed to make it through all of these years. While the paint and metal body had seen better days, the engine still ran relatively well.

To the right side of the Jeep was a dense forest that gradually progressed upwards along the mountain's side. To the left side of the trail far fewer trees grew; and the landscape dropped off more sharply. One was able to easily look out and see the icy blue waters of the Okanagan Lake. A gentle snow fell from the sky and was just beginning to coat the roadway creating a whitish brown mix in the sand and mud that the four wheel drive Jeep drove through with ease.

Continuing further on its journey, the Wranger bounced along the rocky trail. It had left the asphalt roadway miles ago when it began its climb up this narrow mountain trail. After approximately thirty minutes of driving, the Jeep finally found its way into small, flat, clearing. As the vehicle slowed to a stop, its breaks squeaked slightly.

* * *

Set in the center of the clearing was a wooden cabin. Not very large, it was easy to ascertain that it would have only contained several medium sized rooms. Possibly a kitchen, bathroom, living area, and one maybe two bedrooms. The roof of the cabin was covered in fresh snow and a small bit of smoke ascended from the cabin's chimney. Set behind the cabin was a small shed where the humming sound of a generator could be heard. Parked next to the cabin was a dark blue older model Chevrolet Avalanche. This vehicle also appeared to have somehow managed to survive Judgment Day and the following years. The area itself was relatively flat all around for several hundred feet, however, trees and brush were dispersed throughout the majority of the space.

* * *

The door to the Jeep opened and an older white male, with a medium build, and shorter grey hair stepped out. He pulled his dark colored jacket around him trying to shield his body from the cold wind that was now blowing. The man stood next to his vehicle for a moment and looked out at the cold waters of the Okanagan Lake and then back at the cabin. The snowfall had begun to increase and the area was quickly becoming covered in a soft blanket of white snow. Many memories came to mind, as the male stood looking around at his surroundings. He then slowly began to make his way towards the cabin, the freshly laid snow crunching beneath his black boots as he made his way forwards. Upon making it to the front of the cabin the man walked up the few steps that were located in front of the structure and stood beneath a small wooden overhang that was placed over the front door. The man hesitated for a few seconds and then knocked on the door.

Several seconds went by before there was a response. A clicking of a latch being loosened and then the pop of a dead bolt being turned could be heard before the door gradually swung open. The male looked at the beautiful woman standing in the doorway. Her soft brown hair fell across her fair skin, and then down onto her shoulders. Continuing to stand in the doorway in a slight state of shock, the man stared into the soft brown eyes of the woman in front of him.

"Hello Captain Spears." Cameron finally said. Matthew did not immediately respond. He found that he still had some trouble with the fact that even though it had been over fifty years, Cameron still looked just as young as she had the first day he had met her. Finally, after his momentary hesitation Spears responded,

"Hello Cameron." He stated and then added "How are you?"

"I am well…You may come in if you'd like." Matthew nodded his head and then proceeded to wipe his feet, before stepping into the warm air of the cabin. Looking around the small kitchen area that he now stood in as he took off his jacket, Matthew was surprised to see that for a cabin set out in the virtual middle of nowhere, it did appear to have quite a few comforts of home. That is for a post apocalyptic world. A small stove, refrigerator and table were placed around the room itself.

"I assume you are here to see John?" Cameron asked in a slightly softer tone than Matthew originally remembered her speaking in.

"Yes…" Spears replied, but then smiled a little and added, "But, it's always nice to see you too." Cameron produced an ever so slight smirk

"Thank you." She responded somewhat flatly; but in a sincere tone none the less and then continued, "I will get John for you." Cameron turned and proceeded to walk out of the room leaving Matthew to take in the rest of the kitchen that he now stood in.

* * *

The countertop space was small; but well utilized. Matthew presumed that this was more than likely Cameron's doing. Two small windows were located along the wall. One looked out to the area where Spears's Jeep was now parked, and the other gave a very nice view of the lake that was set far below the mountainside. Matthew slowly walked over to the window and stared out at the large body of water. Snow continued to fall turning the tree line into a beautiful white scene.

"Hello Matthew…" Spears heard a voice from behind say to him. Matthew turned towards the direction of the voice.

"Hello General…" He stated as John Connor emerged through the shadows of the doorway which led into the adjacent room. John cracked a half smile on his wrinkled, war torn face. The old scare down his left eye was still readily apparent.

"Nobodies called me that for a long time." Matthew nodded his head in response,

"Old habits die hard." he then added.

"That they do." John proceeded to walk through the doorway and over to the kitchen table, pulling out one of the chairs with his right hand. Spears noticed that John kept his left hand close to him, obviously favoring it due to some pain.

"Please have a seat." John said, motioning towards the other chair. Matthew moved over towards the table taking a seat across from John.

"Would you like something to drink?" John asked.

"No, I'm fine, thank you sir." Spears responded. There was a few seconds of silence between the two men before Matthew finally spoke again,

"So how have you been General?" He asked. John smirked slightly again,

"It's just John now…" there was a certain remorse in John's tone as he made that statement. "And I've been well. How have you been?"

"Good…" Spears stated nodding his head.

"How's Savannah?" John asked.

"She's good...She sends her love." John smiled slightly.

"And Catherine?"

"Very good…" Spears added, "She turned twelve last week." John again smiled at Matthew's statement, to which Spears's chuckled slightly.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day that I had grandchildren."

"I don't think any of us thought we'd live to see our grandchildren." John remarked a certain mixed sense of happy and sadness in his tone. Silence fell over the two men once again before Matthew once again broke it,

"They'd both love to see you again." John nodded his head,

"I know."

"There are a lot of people that would like to see you again…" Spears's voice trailed off as John once again nodded his head.

"I know." He said still in a quiet voice. Matthew flicked his eyes around the room for a moment.

"So how are you and Cameron?" He asked. A smile immediately danced across John's face upon hearing Cameron's name.

"We're very good."

"She keep you busy?" Matthew chuckled slightly as he asked.

"That she does." John responded. Matthew then balked for a brief second before speaking once again.

"You miss it don't you?" he asked, "Being General, or President for that matter." John thought for several long seconds, rubbing his hand along his slightly unshaven face.

"I don't miss being President. I always hated politics and it was even worse when I had to be involved in them." John then paused for a moment.

"But being a general…Things were a lot less complicated back then. We knew who the enemy was and what we had to do." There was another moments hesitation before John continued,

"Don't get me wrong, I'd never want to go back to the way things were…I just miss the simplicity of the situation as a whole. There was only one primary goal…defeat Skynet." Spears leaned back in his chair and it creaked slightly as he did so,

"You're right…things were a lot simpler back then." He then smiled, "Course, there was a pretty good chance we'd be dead the next day; but why concern ourselves with trivial things such as that." John laughed quietly.

* * *

Time began to drift onwards quickly as the two old soldiers continued to talk, trading war stories, or tails of Matthew's children and grandchild. Finally, night began to fall. Matthew glanced out the kitchen window and at the darkening sky.

"Well, I should be going." He said. John paused for a moment before speaking,

"You're more than welcome to spend the night here if you'd like." Spears shook his head smiling,

"I better not…Savannah doesn't like it when I don't come home." He then smirked, "She might think I'm cheating on her." John laughed immediately at this statement. The two men stood from the table and John escorted Matthew over to the door. Turning and looking at John one last time as he put on his coat Matthew spoke,

"It was good to see you again…John." A smile came across John's face. There was another moments silence before John reached out and hugged Matthew, who while somewhat surprised, returned the hug.

"It was good to see you again…my friend." John said.

After the embrace, John proceeded to open the front door for Matthew.

"Tell Savannah and Catherine I said hello." John added as Spears walked in front of him.

"That I will." Matthew answered before stepping through the open door. John watched as Spears made his way back down the steps and out towards his Jeep. Once John saw that Matthew was inside of his vehicle and beginning to pull away he closed the door and locked it.

* * *

John slowly lay down in his bed, his eyes heavy with fatigue. The bed frame inside the medium sized room squeaked slightly upon receiving his weight. The sheets of the bed were warm, and the mattress was soft, something that would have been considered a luxury during "The War". The area itself was lit just barely enough so that John would be able to look around the room. Another old habit that had never seemed to fade from him. The only sound came from outside, a distant humming could be heard from the electrical generator.

John lay quietly on his right side, resting his head against the pillow. A few seconds of silence drifted by before the rustling of sheets could be heard as Cameron gracefully slipped into bed next to him. She curled her body around John's, the same way she did every night, her body protecting his. The silence continued on as John felt a calming sensation drape itself over him as Cameron slowly ran her hand over his shoulder and then down around his chest gently pulling him into an embrace. John gradually exhaled when this occurred, almost as if he were relieved to once again feel Cameron's touch.

John continued to feel the weariness growing as he lay in bed. The room remained calm and serine; but John found that for some reason, something was greatly vexing him tonight. At last breaking the still of the room, he spoke in an quiet voice,

"I'm sorry…" John whispered. A confused look instantly shot across Cameron's face and she slowly propped herself up on her right elbow.

"Sorry?" She replied tilting her head to the side, "I don't understand." Rolling onto his back so that he could look up into her eyes John opened his mouth to speak; but found that no words came out. For a moment, he felt rather foolish lying there with his mouth hanging open, not able to speak, all the while staring into Cameron's eyes. A few more seconds drifted on before John was able to pull himself from his haze. When he did speak, he did so in a sad voice,

"When I first met you…" John balked for a split second, "…I treated you very poorly…Before I knew…Before I admitted to…" John cut himself off feeling his throat tighten as his emotions grew more intense.

"I said, and did many things that I never should have and for that…I am sorry." Cameron gazed at John a certain soft expression on her face.

"Thank you…" She replied in tender voice. "You do not have to apologize though. I understand why you reacted in the ways that you did." There was a moments pause before Cameron continued,

"Your actions back then never changed my view or sentiment towards you." John sighed,

"But still…I feel like I wasted so much time." Cameron continued to stare into John's eyes with her own soft brown irises.

"No time with you was ever wasted." She replied gently. John smiled slightly, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"You need rest…" Cameron stated. Another small smile danced across John's face,

"Thank you…Cameron" John replied in a still quiet voice, as he reached up caressing the side of Cameron's cheek with his hand. In response to this action, Cameron gradually leaned forwards and gently kissed John on the lips.

* * *

The hours drifted by as Cameron lay with John, her body still curled around his. The soft quiet of the room was now only broken by John's heartbeat, which Cameron listened to as she lay next to him. Cameron had always found that the slow rhythmic tone of John's pulse created a certain soothing sensation for her. While she had never quite been able to understand why this occurred, she found that this simple event was extremely unique. The room gradually began to grow quieter. Over the years, Cameron had experienced a great many things. Some were good while others were not. However, through it all her outlook towards John had remained constant. The quiet of the room grew. While Cameron had never been able to fully understand why or how certain emotions were able to form, she was nonetheless grateful that they had. Moreover, while Cameron knew that one day the inevitable would come, she had always resolved it within herself to never depart from John's side. The room grew ever quieter.

* * *

The complete silence seemed to envelope everything. There was no longer any sound coming from inside of the room, as Cameron sat, staring down at John's body. While she was familiar with loss, nothing could even remotely compare to this. Yet, at the same time, she experienced an unmistakable peace. Cameron realized that she had been able to complete her chosen course of action, and had ultimately never failed John. Nevertheless, this particular sensation was unable to fill the bitter emptiness that Cameron now felt.

Still staring down at John's body, a single tear slowly rolled down Cameron's cheek. The silence drifted on for another few seconds and then Cameron carefully lay down next to John, once again curling her body around his, and rapping her arms around John, holding him. As she did this images of John began to flash before Cameron's eyes. For the moment at least, time no longer appeared to carry any meaning for her.

Cameron's chip allowed her to view virtually every memory of John that she had. While she and John had indeed been able to experience both pleasurable and extremely unpleasant times, Cameron found herself truly grateful that she had been able to spend all of these moments with John. Finally, after lying quietly next to John for some time Cameron opened her mouth to speak,

"Thank you…" she whispered quietly and then after a brief hesitation added, "…for everything." As a final few images flashed through Cameron's thoughts, she continued to hold tightly onto John's body. Then suddenly, Cameron's eyes flashed a bright blue beneath her brown irises before Cameron slowly closed her eyes one last time.

* * *

John and Cameron's bodies lay quietly next to one another's on the bed inside of the cabin. The eerie still of the room never to be broken by either one of them again. Cameron's body remained curled around John's, a final testament of what was her never ending love towards and guard over him.

Cameron was the last of her kind, the final remnants of what now appeared to be a forgotten era. There would be no more like her. There would be no more time travel, no more battles for John Connor or Cameron to fight. This was the end. This was their final resting place. Both individuals could obtain the peace that they so rightly deserved. Cameron's selected objective was now complete. And in one final choice, Cameron chose to shut down, possibly granting herself the opportunity to once again reunite with John.

The room's silence was ever present as the lights continued to dim, due to the dying electrical generator. A small desk was positioned near the bed where John and Cameron lay. On it was a journal. The leather on the outside of the book was heavily worn, and the pages were yellowed and tattered. The journal itself remained opened, the last few pages still showing what were now the final thoughts of a once great leader.

_November 2, 2079: If you would have asked me if there was ever a time that I thought I would be sitting here writing these particular words I would have told you "no". I never truly believed that I would have lived for as long as I have and I can only credit this to one person…Cameron. She is the true reason I have survived for as long as I have. Through the good times as few as they were at the beginning, and through all of the bad she was always there for me. She has saved my life more times than I can count and I owe her everything. It saddens me to think that I may never truly be able to thank her for all that she has done for me…I owe her everything. I still cringe when I think about the way I treated her so many years ago, when we first met. Back then, I never truly understood what it was that she had the potential to be, or would become. I don't think anyone did. But, at times, I still find myself wishing that I could back and change things. Change the way I treated her, or what I said to her. She was willing to give me everything, and I very nearly lost all of that. Nevertheless, I now know that I loved her from the very first time I saw her, even if I wasn't able to admit it to myself. Even before I knew what she was, I knew that there was something "special" about her. I tried to deny my feelings for so long, yet deep down I always knew the truth, no matter how much it terrified me, or how long I tried to ignore it. I now know that the best thing that ever happened to me was Cameron. She is the best part of me. The day she entered my life was the first day I truly started living. And I believe that once I am gone from this place, we will eventually be reunited once again. I love Cameron more than life itself and __nothing__ will ever change that. _

_As I sit here writing these words, I realize that I am in the Final Days of my life; but I do not mind. I have been given more time than I ever thought imaginable. And even though I would have liked to share my life with more people, my mother, my father, my uncle…I view all of the years that I was given with any of them as a gift. _

_To whomever finds this journal, know that __you__ are the final harbinger of my life's story. Know that there was a man named Kyle Reese, and that he was my father. He saved my mother, Sarah Connor's life, and in turn saved my life as well. My mother was the greatest soldier I ever knew. She taught me almost everything I know, and I will forever be in her debt. Know that I had an uncle named Derek Reese. He traveled across time, and in the end, sacrificed himself for me. Understand that there was a Terminator named Catherine Weaver, and that she created my friend, John Henry, who made a choice to surrender his own life in order to save humanity. Recognize that I had friends named, Savannah Weaver, Matthew Spears, and Justin Perry. And know that there was a Terminator named Cameron, who saved me in more ways than can ever be described. Understand that I love Cameron. And __know__, that I always will._

THE END

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=aQDOBQSh7-w

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Authors Notes: So I would like to thank everyone for taking this journey with me. I never actually thought that it would go for this long, or become what it has. The original idea's for this story were much shorter, and I never believed it would have taken on this kind of life (585 pages, 196,469 words and 73 chapters).

Part of the reason why I wrote this story was because I wanted people to have something that would "complete" the entire Terminator story, from beginning to middle to end and I think that this does a pretty good job. I also wrote this fan fic because I wanted myself and others to have some sort of closure that was denied to us when TSCC was canceled.

I'd like to thank EVERYONE for reading my story. I truly enjoyed reading everyone's reviews every week and I am saddened that I will no longer be able to do that. I'd also like to thank a few people personally. I drew a great deal of inspiration seeing how well Talli's "I'll Always Find You" came together. Along with my talks with Orsino and Kaotic. Again thank you all for taking the time to read this story and I hope it gives you both closure and happiness by the end.


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